RE: [Leica] Ansel Adams/John Wimberley WAS Mapplethorpe, high qua ilty porn

["Rodgers, David" <david.rodgers@xo.com>]

Dean

>>I was once shocked to see a quote from Elliott Erwitt which went, in part,
"...this is not the same thing as the quality of Ansel Adams, which, if I
may say so, is the quality of a postcard."<<

Everyone looks at art through the veil of their own emotions and life's
experiences. EE was right in that there's a "postcardish" quality to Adams'
photographs. But I think he's reflecting the subject matter, and not the
technical printing quality. When I look at Erwitt's work he always seems to
hold subject matter above technical quality. I'm not saying his stuff is
technically poor. He just wasn't a printer like Adams. Nor was Erwitt into
scenic photography, that I've seen. I'm guessing that's what he meant by
"quality of a postcard". 

Speaking of interpretive veils, I used to look at every b/w image and wonder
whether or not it was taken with a Leica. Now I wonder if it's a digital or
a chemical print. Sometimes it's a curse because I can't seem to enjoy a
photograph for what it is....which is a photograph. 

Dave