Digital BW, The Print

Peter et al, Your list is so close to mine as to send
chills down my spine.  If I had to narrow it down to
two heroes it would be Andre Kertesz and Edward Weston
- in no particular order.  Both used tools appropriate
to their vision and sometimes  experimented.  One of
Kertesz's last projects was with a Polaroid SX70. 
Weston used a handheld Graflex SLR 4x5 for more
spontaneous portraiture.

Not to compare myself but only to "take a lesson" from
the greats, I too have worked in 8x10 view, Medium
Format, 35mm, and digital. Artists frequently work in
"periods" such as Picasso's famous "blue" one.  I seem
to get out of a "different side of the bed" about
every decade. I started as a street shooter in 1969; 
next worked mostly MF interiors, still-lifes, and
portraits; then 8x10 interiors, still-lifes,
portraits, and outdoor night work; now have come
almost full circle, and am doing street and cafe
shooting once again.  I've had occasion to think about
all this as I sift through more than 30 years of
negatives for scanning, Photo-shop work-up, and
digital printing. And yes, almost all B&W to stay OT.

For nostalgia I like working with former Soviet Leica
and Contax copies.  But I must say that for actually
acquiring images - digital is much better in virtually
all technical aspects for candid street and cafe work.
 I just need to balance whether my nostalgic feelings
(e.g imagining I'm Kertesz or Bresson) , or working
with the tool they would have chosen if available to
them at the time is more important.  I don't think
there is much question that the Greats of
photographing that-which=is-in-motion would have
chosen digital if it had been available to them.  The
biggest problem for me is what is frequently touted as
digital's biggest advantage - immediate feedback. I
agree with Nick Brandt that the processes of
expectation (both realized and confounded), and chance
have always been important for me.   Digital sometimes
short-circuits this process too quickly.  It's 
relatively easy for most of us to obtain (again) what
we or others have already obtained - at least in terms
of the technical, subject matte,r and overall visual
intent .  What's hard is to develop ones vision in a
new way. To learn to see anew. Chance and percolation
time have been essential in this process for me- and I
would imagine for many.

If the question is: "Is digital state-of-the-art up to
the task technically for hand-held work relative to
35mm film"  - I believe most would agree there is no
question about that in 2006. "Can digital  sometime in
the near-future rival a contact print from an 8x10
film negative (Weston's and my benchmark) and how near
is it and how much will it cost" is a more open
question and much more interesting for me.   As to how
one best finds the tools and methods that work best
for them in the evolution of their vision - that is
something only personal experience (including
listening and looking at the work of others) can
answer.

As an aside, while browsing Clayton's site I followed
a link to the work of Nikolas Hartman.  His vision is
incredible.  Check-out his site out if you haven't. 
If you love Kertesz - I think you'll like his work. 
He happens to work with 35mm RF's and BO printing. But
that is, of course, just what works for him.

Michael Vendrell  
--- Peter Marshall <petermarshall@...> wrote:

> I've used 8x10 and I have to say it was never a
> match for 35mm for most 
> of the things I wanted to do as a photographer. It
> depends what you 
> want. There isn't a single path. My vote for the
> greatest photographer 
> of the 20th century would quite probably go either
> to Andre Kertesz or 
> Robert Frank or Walker Evans depending which side of
> the bed I got out 
> of this morning. Never of course to Ansel, although
> occasionally to 
> Edward W. and more often to Bill Brandt.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Peter Marshall
> petermarshall@...     
>
_________________________________________________________________
> My London Diary	             
> http://mylondondiary.co.uk/
> London's Industrial Heritage:
> http://petermarshallphotos.co.uk/
> The Buildings of London etc: 
> http://londonphotographs.co.uk/
> and elsewhere......
> 
> 
> 
> cloudswimmer7774 wrote:
> > Man I hear this all the time.Mostly at DPreview
> dot comm.Is digital
> > capture really now a match for 8x10 BW film in
> fine art?I live on the
> > Calif. coast and frequent quite a few galleries.I
> have yet to see a
> > digital captured BW image that drops my jaw like
> Brett's stuff shot
> > with his old Calumet C-1, or Ansels large 8x10
> stuff.I'm not totally
> > convinced these guys would be capturing with
> digital.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >   
> >> It's worth something. Not a single one of the
> photographers you
> >> mentioned, if they were in the prime of their
> career would NOT be
> >> shooting digital capture, especially Ansel Adams.
> He told us himself 
> >> decades ago before he died that he wished it was
> available to him
> >> then. It wasn't. 
> >>     
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Please visit the Group Homepage to check the
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> >
> >
>
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> \ufffdMODERATORS\ufffd OF DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP
> SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT,
> INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY
> DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR
> LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER
> INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF THE  \ufffdOWNER\ufffd AND
> \ufffdMODERATORS\ufffd OF DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP
> HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
> DAMAGES), RESULTING FROM: (i) THE USE OR THE
> INABILITY TO USE THE DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO
> GROUP; (ii) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF
> YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA; (iii) STATEMENTS OR
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> TO THE DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP.
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