soulman
14-11-2012, 11:04pm
The National Maritime Museum at Greenwich in London has put together a show of more than 100 of Adams' pictures and the Beeb has made a slideshow about it here (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20304829). It's narrated by the curator, who offers some observations and analysis.
The images in the slideshow are largely concerned with water and I found it interesting that there is almost none of the long exposure misty look that is so common now, even though it would have been hard to freeze the water with the slow films and small apertures he used. Of the two blurry water pictures shown, one is quite atypical and exceptionally beautiful.
The curator talks about the humility of the work, which is not commonly said about Adams' pictures, but is true I think. They're bold and strong - he was a great darkroom manipulator and liked his prints to be punchy - but they don't demand your attention like a spoiled child. I think the guy was completely in love with the country he inhabited and very much wanted to share that.
The slideshow is well worth 5 minutes - or more - of your time if you have any sort of interest in the landscape or want a glimpse of a time when photographers exposed less frames in a day than most cameras will now do in a second.
The images in the slideshow are largely concerned with water and I found it interesting that there is almost none of the long exposure misty look that is so common now, even though it would have been hard to freeze the water with the slow films and small apertures he used. Of the two blurry water pictures shown, one is quite atypical and exceptionally beautiful.
The curator talks about the humility of the work, which is not commonly said about Adams' pictures, but is true I think. They're bold and strong - he was a great darkroom manipulator and liked his prints to be punchy - but they don't demand your attention like a spoiled child. I think the guy was completely in love with the country he inhabited and very much wanted to share that.
The slideshow is well worth 5 minutes - or more - of your time if you have any sort of interest in the landscape or want a glimpse of a time when photographers exposed less frames in a day than most cameras will now do in a second.