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[OM] AA [was Lest we lose the real perspective...]

Subject: [OM] AA [was Lest we lose the real perspective...]
From: Moose <olymoose@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 29 May 2009 17:40:59 -0700
I've no quarrel with those who don't like Adam's work. I think Ken's 
summary is pretty good.

Just a few comments that may widen the discussion:

- Adams did something few have ever done with such care and patience. He 
pre-visualized images months or years ahead of time. Many of his shots 
of Yosemite and the High Sierra in general were pre-scouted. He'd hike 
up into often difficult to reach places to see if he could get the angle 
he wanted. He'd then think about the light and work out at what time of 
day, year and in what weather the shot would work best.

Then he would haul the 8x10 and heavy tripod up to the spot for the 
appointed day and time. If the weather didn't cooperate, he would try 
again. This is something I suppose may be lost on those who don't know 
the subjects personally. I have often stood looking at things he has 
photographed in awe not only of his photographic technique, but of the 
patience and effort he put into making an image of it that I can't approach.

- I think Ken is right about the light. In Adam's best images, it's not 
just California light, but high Sierra light. John Muir called it "The 
Range of Light". And I find that to be true. From just North of Yosemite 
down the crest to Mt. Whitney, there is a quality to the landscape and 
light that is, if not unique, quite unusual. I've not been up there for 
years. I suppose the smog and haze from human activity in the Central 
Valley that's so strongly affecting flora at lower elevations may be 
starting to obscure the high country air as well. I hope not; the 
clarity was astonishing.

And Adam's nailed it. the light IS cool, the granite IS light colored 
and rugged, the air is thin, and every little detail stands out. Not HRD 
like, as Ken suggests, at least not the misplaced tonalities of so much 
HDR work - but certainly with lots of high contrast edges, LCE-ish, if 
you like. That's what it looked like in person.

I've come down from the high country or from the Eastern scarp, walked 
into the Adams gallery in Yosemite Valley and just been amazed at how 
the prints there caught the "look and feel" of where I'd just been. If 
you are from somewhere else, that's not going to be part of the viewing 
experience. It seems to me that, on average, the farther the subjects 
are from his core area, the weaker the images. But that may partly be 
'cause they are also from areas I don't know as well.

There's many kinds of light in Calif., and I believe Adams wouldn't have 
been much good at some of it. I don't see this coming from his cameras, 
even though it's not far from some of his best subjects. 
<http://www.moosemystic.net/Gallery/MPhotos/Calif/Sierras/Sfoothills3.htm>

- Adams was an odd, sometimes prickly character. People who take great 
people pictures generally like and are comfortable around all kinds of 
people. Taking him to task for weak people images is just silly, He did 
few and they weren't his forte. I've seen original prints of a number of 
images he took on a commercial assignment early in his career. They are 
of a college, for promotional purposes. Perfectly good exposure, 
printing, composition, and so on, but not sense of life in the many 
student subjects.

I used to work next to the studio and darkroom of a locally highly 
regarded portrait photographer. He occasionally put in his window 
landscape and mountain prints. Technically just as perfect as his 
portraits, but the portraits were alive and the landscapes weren't.

Bring me the mountain landscapes of Karsh and HC-B!

- Bill and some others have seen original prints and still aren't 
impressed. Due to his popularity and saleability, there have been some 
rather well done prints and even poster of Adams' work. They aren't the 
same as the real thing.

- There is another quality that Adams' eye and technique and B&W tend to 
miss. Take Bierstadt's Western landscapes, tone them down about 70% and 
you've got a sort of light and color that does exist there and is 
missing from Adam's images. 
<http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Half-Dome-Yosemite-Valley-Posters_i114874_.htm> 


Overall, I'd say Adam's images are more accurate representations of the 
mountain look and feel. Bierstadt's are more emotionally accurate 
portraits of the valley, mid year look and feel. I passed through the 
valley one 4th of July many years ago, before controls on numbers and 
fires. Summer sun through the smoke haze hovering in the valley was very 
soft and warm colored. There were also some drunken semi-riots among the 
partyers. Rules changed after that.

Moose
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