View Camera Latest Issue May/June 98
Gregory Blank
Really nice reproductions, can't wait wait to read the article by Michael
A. Smith. Nice job!!!
--
Check out My Photography Site http://members.bellatlantic.net/~gblank
Michael
Gregory Blank wrote:
I second the comment.
Since there was so much discussion on the NG two months ago about
reproduction quality, I feel it is important to let VC know when you think
they are doing a good job also...
---Michael
Tho...@worldnet.att.net
>
>
> Since there was so much discussion on the NG two months ago about
> reproduction quality, I feel it is important to let VC know when you think
> they are doing a good job also...
>
> ---Michael
I absolutely agree with this.
VC is a great resource.
Tom
Kerry Thalmann
Michael wrote:
>
> Gregory Blank wrote:
>
> > Really nice reproductions, can't wait wait to read the article by Michael
> > A. Smith. Nice job!!!
> >
> > --
> > Check out My Photography Site http://members.bellatlantic.net/~gblank
>
> I second the comment.
>
> reproduction quality, I feel it is important to let VC know when you think
> they are doing a good job also...
As someone who complained about the previous color reproduction quality
in View Camera, I thought I'd add my two cents. No, the new issue is
not plagued by the poor color reproduction of the March/April 1998
issue, but I'm not convinced they have addressed the issue. To me, it
looks like they merely side-stepped it until they can get a permanent
fix in place. None of the color images in the current issue contain
what I would call literal color. They are artisitic works of an
impressionistic nature. Nothing wrong with that. Just that due to
their impressionistic and artistic nature, I don't have anything
mentally as a reference to how they should look. In other words, I
lack the visual clues necessary to judge accurate color reproduction.
This is entirely the opposite the previous issue which featured the work
of several color landscape artists. I knew immeditately that those
images did not look right.
Also, the problem in the previous issue was due to poor scans at View
Camera. They do not seem to have any color reproductions problems when
the artist supplies the digital files. Also, they seem to have fewer
problems getting good scans from reflective originals (which would
likely be the case in the current issue since the originals were
Polaroid collages). And I have never noticed a problem with their black
and white reproductions.
So, the current issue looks great, but it doesn't contain any evidence
that they have solved their previous problem. I hope they have.
Although the artistic images are nice, I personally prefer more
traditional color landscape photography. I was thrilled with the focus
on color landscape artists in the March/April issue, but unfortunately
didn't get to fully appreciate their work due to the poor color
reproduction. I hope they get it licked and start featuring more such
work in the future.
Kerry
--
Kerry L. Thalmann Large Format Images of Nature
A Few of My Images Online at: http://home.att.net/~k.thalmann/
Michael Liczbanski
>>Although the artistic images are nice, I personally prefer more
>traditional color landscape photography.
...which obviously isn't artistic, correct? <grin>
An interesting usage of the term "artistic."
Michael
Kerry Thalmann wrote in message <6l1ult$r...@bgtnsc03.worldnet.att.net>...
DO1
6-3-98
We all run afoul of the dictionary occasionally. In fairness
to the writer, "artistic" appears to have meant 'obviously manipulated
art'. I don't think the author was trying to say that all art
is obviously manipulated....some of the finest work shows no
manipulation, because the manipulation occurred in the artist's
brain as composition, color, texture, light, etc.
Even an accidental exposure can be art....of course, we know
that the odds are astronomical for "accidental" art.
Dan
Kerry Thalmann
Michael Liczbanski wrote:
>
> >>Although the artistic images are nice, I personally prefer more
> >traditional color landscape photography.
>
> ...which obviously isn't artistic, correct? <grin>
>
> An interesting usage of the term "artistic."
Hey Michael,
Good catch (excuse me while I wipe the egg off my face). Of course,
being a nature photographer, that is not what I meant to say. I guess I
should have spent a little more time trying to come up with the right
world to describe those images. I think "impressionistic" works. I
have a friend that uses the term "artsy-farsty", but that is not the
sentiment I was looking to convey.
Mike McDonald
In article <6l3tsl$m...@bgtnsc02.worldnet.att.net>,
Kerry Thalmann <K.Tha...@worldnet.att.net> writes:
> Michael Liczbanski wrote:
>>
>> >>Although the artistic images are nice, I personally prefer more
>> >traditional color landscape photography.
>>
>> ...which obviously isn't artistic, correct? <grin>
>>
>> An interesting usage of the term "artistic."
> I
> have a friend that uses the term "artsy-farsty", but that is not the
> sentiment I was looking to convey.
>
> Kerry
Works for me! :-)
Mike McDonald
mik...@mikemac.com
Kerry Thalmann
Kerry Thalmann wrote:
> To me, it
> looks like they merely side-stepped it until they can get a permanent
> fix in place.
This was a poor choice of words on my part and just an opinion based on
the lack of literal color images in the current issue. This opinion was
not based on fact, and I shouldn't have posted it here. I apologize to
Steve Simmons and View Camera magazine for doing so.
Jay Wenner
: >>Although the artistic images are nice....
I've only had an opportunity to read one of the articles. I believe the
photographers initials were A.M. and some pictures were of rooms that
were essentially pinhole cameras. I really liked the "Paper Bag" photo.
That and the "Book" photo show a good eye and creativity. The "room
pinhole" photos didn't do too much for me until I read the article, and
now I think it's a pretty cool idea--a really unusual idea. So I've
grown to like the "NYC photo of a room."
As for the images which look like they've been highlighted with an
orange marker, no...those didn't do much for me, but I'll have to read
the article before I pass (my) judgment.
Jay Wenner
Mike McDonald
In article <6l6drb$6...@epx.cis.umn.edu>,
> As for the images which look like they've been highlighted with an
> orange marker, no...those didn't do much for me, but I'll have to read
> the article before I pass (my) judgment.
>
> Jay Wenner
This idea of reading an article before you can judge a photo seems totally
foreign to me. To me, photo should stand on its own merits, not because of
some description, analysis, or explanation by the "artist" or a "critic". To
me, if you have to explain the photo first, then it fails as a photo. Much
like a joke!
Mike McDonald
mik...@mikemac.com
Michael Liczbanski
>. To me, photo should stand on its own merits
Photography is used for a variety of purposes, including illustration,
conceptual art, in connection with other graphic media, etc. Quite often a
photograph IS a part of something else (be it text, another image,
smell...) You may not agree with it, but it is a fact, and why deny facts?
I will venture a guess, that "straight" ("no more than meets the eye")
photography is not as common as you assume.
Michael
Mike McDonald wrote in message ...
Jay Wenner
Mike McDonald (mik...@mikemac.com) wrote:
: This idea of reading an article before you can judge a photo seems totally
: foreign to me. To me, photo should stand on its own merits, not because of
: some description, analysis, or explanation by the "artist" or a "critic". To
: me, if you have to explain the photo first, then it fails as a photo. Much
: like a joke!
Well, I did take a look at the article and it didn't change my opinion,
but I think context _can_ make a difference. If the photographs were from
a 6th grade photo contest, I'd be damn impressed, even though I don't like
post manipulation (painting) of photos. What if the image came from a
digital superposition of a photograph and a painting of the same subject
by the same artist. I'd find that unusual and interesting even though the
final result is not my taste. I agree though, that the final product is
most of what I judge.
Jay Wenner
Gregory Blank
In reading the article on printing by Michael A.Smith it has truely given
me something to consider...in regards to trying the metronome in my own
darkroom. It intrigues me the overall procedure described. I wonder if
anyone else out there uses such means to obtain the end result for thier
fine art work?
I liked the images in the Article entitled Reinventing A Child's Vision
by Rosalind Smith the photographer Abelardo Morrell's images are to me
what a photographer should do creatively....experiment with visual
boundaries. Although not all articles in View Camera always match my
artistic tastes every time, I try to keep an open mind and enjoy. I have
been happy with my subscription for the years I've subscribed. Its nice
that Mr.Simmons remains in tune with his readership..... alot of
publications don't.