[Leica] Check out April 5 Newsweek. (No Leica content)

[george at imagist.com (George Lottermoser)]

B. D. Colen4/1/04

>seen some of the work somewhere - can't remember where - there's nothing
>particularly outstanding about it; it's solid, if not inspired, pj work.What it has going for it is the gimmick. ;-) Don't forget, one can shoot
>for "revealing moments through a minimal number of exposures" with any
>camera, though I don't see how shooting a minimal number of exposures is
>more likely to capture revealing moments.

For anyone, like myself, who continues to love large format photowork for it's unique ability to bring huge amounts of visual information from life to film, and lay it down in long-scaled, grainless tones and/or rich, detailed and nuanced colors - we wouldn't, necessarily refer to recording history on 4x5 film as a gimmick. 

I'd look to those negatives and prints for "revealing details" more than "revealing moments." One has to appreciate the media of Walker Evans applied to today's events - to appreciate what I and apparently this photographer may find revealing in such a technique. 

When smaller and smaller, and less and less detailed formats replaced the 4x5 speed graphics; new possibilities arose for the pj. The fact that new replaces old does not mean that new gets better. For everything that is gained somethings are lost. Different. Not better. 

Taking another look at the 4x5 negative to record events in 2004 may leave us with some very interesting and richly detailed records.

Back in the 70's I photographed a wedding for a very influencial Hassidic family. When I went to their home to discuss the work they showed me the historical albums from former family member's weddings. They were all done with 4x5 cameras and the prints were flat out stunning. The fabrics of the clothing, the texture of the skin (we're talking about when looking at crowd shots - not head shots), the archtectural details, the textures of the food all glowed with a sense of reality, for all time. 

Large format is still a viable way to record events and the end result will reveal things that 35 400asa, and digital will not even begin to capture. Obviously the 4x5 photographer will also miss moments that the small format, motor drive, digital burst folks will get - and yes the digital guy will have his work on-press before the 4x5 guy/gal will even unload his first holder. Different. Not better.

Fond regards,

G e o r g e   L o t t e r m o s e r,    imagist?

<?>Peace<?>   <?>Harmony<?>  <?>Stewardship<?>

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