Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/04/28

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Subject: RE: [Leica] Garry Winogrand
From: "Dan Honemann" <ddh@home.com>
Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2000 09:06:49 -0400

Thanks for this information, Johnny.  If you write that biography, please
sign me up for a copy.

His photography is inspirational, isn't it?  Not just the photos themselves,
but his whole approach, allowing anything and everything to become art.
Another quotation from the book (which I'll have to paraphrase, as I'm now
at the office (working diligently, as you can tell :)), says something about
how every photograph becomes itself a brand new (arti)fact.  That struck me.
Is it that we capture images of reality on film, or that we create reality
through images on film?  The latter is a fresh and interesting perspective.

Re. the technical details, I'm surprised to hear that Tri-X can be pushed to
1000 and still look so smooth; I'd have expected more grain, especially from
the size of these prints.  Some of the shots look wider even than 28; I
wonder if he ever shot a 24 or 21 on that M2 just for kicks.  I'd also enjoy
hearing comments from others.

Dan

P.S. It's easy to see how your work has been influenced by Winogrand.
You've done him proud.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Johnny
> Deadman
> Sent: Friday, April 28, 2000 6:05 AM
> To: LUG
> Subject: Re: [Leica] Garry Winogrand
>
> Winogrand (my hero!!) almost exclusively used an M2 or M3 with a
> 28 for his
> street stuff, though I think you're right that some of the early stuff was
> shot with a 35. I suspect that some of the 28 images were cropped slightly
> which makes them look like a 35. (There are very few limbs poking into the
> edge of frame which is unusual for such freeform shooting).
>
> There are nice pictures of him using the M2 in that 'THE OTHER SIDE OF THE
> CAMERA' book, which has a great shot of him shooting between his legs as a
> joke.
>
> It was all Tri-X in D76 1:1, though Meyerowitz says in BYSTANDER that
> Winogrand rated it at 1000 and pushed it, so that he could shoot at 1/1000
> whenever possible... he was a fanatic about sharpness, apparently. If you
> look at the sunlit shots there is often no shadow detail whatever.
>
> Other people remember that Winogrand used to attach little sticky tabs to
> his film recording the light conditions it was shot under.
>
> Most of the time the camera was in his hand with the strap wrapped around
> his palm. People remember him standing in the flow, just bringing
> the camera
> to his eye for the exposure, quick as a flash, then giving one of his big
> Santa Claus grins that he always seems to be wearing.
>
> As I keep saying, I really want to write a Winogrand biography,
> so if anyone
> has any anecdotes or contacts they feel like sharing, I'd love to be
> contacted off-list.
>
> --
> Johnny Deadman
>
> photos:      http://www.pinkheadedbug.com
> music:       http://www.jukebox.demon.co.uk
>
>