Originally posted by CWyatt ... a quote from Elliot Erwitt on the 'Ansel Adams versus Robert Frank' argument:
...
"Good photography is not about 'Zone Printing' or any other Ansel Adams nonsense. It's just about seeing. You either see, or you don't see. The rest is academic. Photography is simply a function of noticing things. Nothing more."
You just prompted me to pull out the book
PRIVATE EXPERIENCE: Elliott Erwitt. I leaf through and see some of the most famous photos of the mid-20th century, iconic photos of Bucky Fuller in a chopper, Jackie Kennedy at JFK's funeral, Pablo Casals fiddling, Nixon poking a finger into Khruschev, a marching black GI sticking his tongue out at the camera. There are landscapes and roomscapes shot with view cameras, clear as a bell. But most of the people pictures are pushed 35mm Tri-X, grainy, blurry, and compelling as hell. Even the nudist camp pictures are noisy, and that doesn't matter at all. Erwitt noticed people, SAW people, saw and recorded their actions. High resolution? Crisp sharpness? Pedantic details? Who cares -- too much detail can distract you from what's important. All that's needed is just enough detail to tell the story. The rest is superfluous, unless (or even if) you're shooting postcards or calendars or catalogs. The rule:
f/8 and be there, eyes wide open.
BTW: Let me recommend the 1974 series of magazine-size picture books,
PETERSEN'S MASTERS OF CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY. I don't know if there were more than the four I have. Besides Erwitt, they are:
PHOTO ESSAY: Paul Fusco & Will McBride;
PHOTOJOURNALISM: Mary Ellen Mark & Annie Leibovitz; and
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: Bert Stern. Each NSFW volume contains a technical appendix that discusses the making of many of the shots. These are treasure troves of information, and hella great pictures.