First Artist
Ansel Adams
Group f/6
sharp-focused and carefully framed images seen through a particularly Western (U.S.) viewpoint
4 original members- Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, Brett Weston and Willard Van Dyke.
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/11/an-in-depth-history-of-group-f-64/?_r=0
Artist- Ansel Adams
Adams founded the group f/64, devoted to what they termed “straight photography,” as opposed to staged or embellished images.
particularly in reference to his striking images of the American wilderness.
carefully evaluating gradations of light in the image, manipulating degree of exposure, and constantly experimenting with new techniques.
Adams was also pivotal in the establishment of the Department of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art.
In the early 40's Adams created what is known as his 'zone system', which is a system that helps photographers determine the correct exposure and a desired development time to help optimize for the most ideal gradation of grey values. More specifically the zone system is a technique which allows photographers to translate light into specific densities and negatives which gives the photographer much more control over the look of their final product.
https://www.artsy.net/artist/ansel-adams
Art 2 - Close Up of Leaves
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Art 1- Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico
PHOTO DISCRIPTION
Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, by Ansel Adams. This photograph is a 10x 8 black and white landscape showcasing the night scene of a cemetery. As most the field is vacant, your attention draws immediately to the cemetery, and all the details of the gravestones, and small buildings. The majority of the sky is empty with a small moon surrounded by darkness. Meanwhile below this, the clouds and snowcapped mountain tops show a high contrast by reflecting the remaining light from the sunset. This demonstrates Ansel Adams’ skill by using minimal light, and still bringing out a strong image, with various levels.
No doubt much of the appeal of this picture lies in its pious sentimentality, with the last rays of sunlight gilding the cemetery's rude crosses. But even this treacly work demonstrates Adams's sophisticated use of modernist form and painstaking craft to accentuate his otherwise romantic imagery. The skies that tower above the village are in effect a giant canvas punctuated by the pale shapes of the moon and a few streaky clouds, and the whole image is masterfully printed to wring every bit of emotion from it.
http://ca.phaidon.com/agenda/photography/articles/2014/september/22/photos-that-changed-the-world-3-moonrise/
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/10/arts/photography-review-why-ansel-adams-stays-so-popular.html
http://anseladams.com/ansel-adams-anecdotes/
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Art 3- The Tetons and the Snake River (1942)
-brought detail to photography that was not commonly seen
-wanted to remind people of the beauty in the natural landscape
-limited palette in this photograph helps Ansel Adams to draw the eye towards the main focal point
http://www.ansel-adams.org/the-tetons-and-the-snake-river/
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QUOTE- U.S. Camera Annual 1943
use red or orange filters when shooting images, to block out the blue light from the sky so that when printed, the sky wouldn’t come out white, and instead a darker grey to help show contrast from the white puffy clouds and such
Second Artist
Edward Weston -
Born March 24, 1886 Highland Park, Illinois
Died January 1, 1958 Carmel, California
Edward Weston was the first photographer to receive Guggenheim fellowship in 1937.
Weston developed Parkinson's disease in the late 40's. In 1950 his last photo was published with the help of his son, Brett.
On his way to New York to meet Alfred Steiglitz, the most influential photographer of the time,
Edward was distracted by the ARMCO Steel Mills in Ohio.
This was the turning point in Edward’s photographic career.
This is when he decided to give up the soft images of pictorialism
and create the sharp, contrasty
and completely in focus photographs of things as they are.
Without manipulation.
This was the year 1922 and when Edward Weston burned all negatives of his work prior to this year. He did this so that people would only remember him for his more recent work.
It was in 1923 Weston moved to Mexico to start his life over and begins his new view on photography
““To record the quintessence of the object or element before my lens, rather than an interpretation, a superficial phase, or passing mood—this is my way in photography,” he once said.”
He was very successful in showing the simple beauty in natural, unaltered forms. He enjoyed finding that beauty in the simplest of things
such as lines in sand or the details and textures in close-ups of the vegetables he would photograph.
For example, one of his most famous series were his shells.
First Image is Nautilus. A 1927 Gelatin Silver Print
Briefly…Gelatin silver prints are a general term describing the most common process for making black and white photographs since the 1890s. A variety of photographic print papers were introduced in the 1880s. They included various developing-out and printing-out papers. Developing out prints are cool black and white images. Printing out prints usually have warm tones.
These were influenced by artist Henrietta Shore.
“He wrote in a 1927 journal entry: "I was awakened to shells by the painting of Henry [Henrietta Shore]. I never saw a Chambered Nautilus before.
"If I had, my response would have been immediate. If I merely copy Henry's expression, my work will not live. If I am stimulated and work with real ecstasy it will live.”" So while Weston infers that his photography was not sexual, that last quote makes me believe that he did feel they were sensual and stimulating. I’m not alone in that opinion.
“Tina Modotti and their friends in Mexico City reacted to the shell images with phrases like “They make me think of lilies and of embryos. They are mystical and erotic.” In a biography of Edward Weston on induction to The International Photography Hall of Fame, Jozef Gross is quoted: The image is not at all about a nautilus shell but about those elements in the object which conjure up other organic phenomena or functions, mainly human and sexual.”
I believe he thought all sculptures, because of the curves and lines, to be sensual. That he considered his photography of his Shells and Peppers to be sculpturesque. His intent, in my opinion, throughout his photography, was to take even the mundane. like vegetables and make them beautiful.
Such as the Pepper No. 30, my 2nd image, which was given to him by his lover, Sonya Noskowiak. He loved the curving lines and the smoothness of it. He thought all the flaws including the rot at the bottom to be just as important as the perfections.
So while there may be no definite rule of thirds in these images of Edward’s, he did fill the frame with them. He also used great contrast and form. Your eyes follow the curves of the pepper through the entire image. It’s a smooth continuity throughout the image until, perhaps you reach the rot at the bottom of the pepper. This definitely causes my eye to pause.
In his style of photography, lines were also very important. The crispness of the lines and the definition were vital to his idea of all sharp. I don’t think any of our lenses today, that I am aware of, even achieve f/64.
Weston was so precise and exact in his work, that what he saw in his mind he attained through the lens and then was able to finalize in print.
”“I start with no preconceived idea – discovery excites me to focus – then rediscovery through the lens – final form of presentation seen on ground glass,” he said, “The finished print pre-visioned completely in every detail of texture, movement, proportion, before exposure – the shutter’s release automatically and finally fixes my conception, allowing no after manipulation – the ultimate end, the print, is but a duplication of all that I saw and felt through my camera.””
The image, which is my 3rd main image, and the next few images were his last photos in his series of Point Lobos.
There he took many shots and created more images of crisp, detailed beauty. Some of his favourites were of cypress trees. He loved the formation of rocks and the flow of water through them. Even pieces of kelp were an inspiration to Edward. During his time of photographing in Point Lobos, it was considered an renewal of life for Weston. A new beginning. I think it was also this for Point Lobos. For the way he photographed all it has to offer had never been done before. He showed it in a whole new clear and distinct fashion.
Third Artist
Imogen Cunningham
Imogen Cunningham was one of the first professional female photographers in America, she known for her photography of flowers and plants, however, she also shot images of nudes, industrial landscapes, and street scenes. (America. (1976) retrieved from www.artsy.net)
Imogen was born in Portland, Oregon in 1883. She grew up in Seattle, Washington where she attended University of Washington in Seattle. She majored in chemistry as a professor told her that she should have a science background in order to be a photographer. When she graduated with a major in chemistry her thesis was called “Modern Processes of Photography” (Meg Partridge.(2011) Imogen Cunningham Biography. Retrieved from www.imogencunningham.com)
After graduation she got a job at the Edward S. Curtis’ portrait studio. In this studio she learned how to do platinum printing. In 1909, her college sorority gave her a grant to study photographic chemistry in Germany. She published a thesis called “About Self-Production of Platinum Papers for Brown Tones.” “In this paper she urged the use of hand-coated paper for platinum prints, as much more convenient and easier to handle than commercial paper.” (Meg Partridge.(2011) Imogen Cunningham Biography. Retrieved from www.imogencunningham.com).
Imogen saved all of her money which added up to $15.00 and bought her first camera in 1901.Her first camera was a 4x5 camera with a box of glass plates.
In a video of Imogen discussing her photography , Imogen states “To take a good photograph you need to think about it like a poet would” (Meg Partridge (Excerpts from a film by Meg Partridge (May 19, 2013). Imogen Cunningham: Portrait of Imogen, YouTube)
After returning from Germany she opened a portrait studio in Seattle. She had her first one person exhibition in 1914 at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences.
She later married and had children. During this time she moved to California with her family. Having three young children her photography consisted of photographs of her children and the plants in her garden.
Her first commercial shoot was photographing the Adolph Bohm Ballet InTime. During this time she also started to take sharp focus plant photographs. Her first double-exposure photo was of her mother with a crown of silver spoons.
Her photos were exhibited in Germany and San Francisco. Imogen’s photo of dancer, Martha Graham were published in Vanity Fair. This resulted in the editors hiring her to take photos of famous Hollywood people.
Imogen had one of the longest careers in the history of photography. In the 1920’s she began photographing nudes of friends and family and plant forms from her garden. “The results are staggering; an amazing body of work comprised of bold, contemporary forms.” (Meg Partridge. (date unknown) Imogen Cunningham. Retrieved from www.photoliaison.com). Her floral photos are what she was most famous for.
Two Callas - Two Callas was taken in 1925. This is one of Imogen’s most striking photographs, with its flowing form and intimate details. This image was originally displayed in Germany. Imogen’s images of flowers which is seen in this photo was one of the images that helped define Imogen as one of America’s most respected photographers (Meg Partridge. (date unknown) Imogen Cunningham. Retrieved from www.photoliaison.com)
Magnolia Blossom - “Imogen took this photo of Magnolia Blossom in 1925 for her own pleasure. With three small children in the house, she said she had “one hand in the dishpan, the other in the darkroom”
(Meg Partridge. (date unknown) Imogen Cunningham. Retrieved from www.photoliaison.com)
Triangles - “This image was taken in 1928, in Los Angeles, when Imogen was photographing her friends, Jackie and Helen Greaves, both alone and together. Triangles has become one of Imogen’s well-known nudes. After developing the negative, she wrote on the file folder, “The One!” ” (Meg Partridge. (date unknown) Imogen Cunningham. Retrieved from www.photoliaison.com) | 
