Re: [Leica] PRE-visualization

[Mark Rabiner <mark@rabiner.cncoffice.com>]

Ted, Jim and others:

I've never been thrown much by the term "PRE-visualization".
I think i use the term and i think i got it from Ansel Adams books, maybe
somewhere else. (his gardener?) (Pastry chef?)
Here's how i think of it (in my minds eye) :)

You are standing there with your camera looking at a shot of a mountain against
a blue sky with a few clouds but you are thinking about what it's going to look
like with a red filter with the sky very dark grey with the clouds poping out
and all the haze cut though. And the foliage also going dark to black and you
are planning on jacking up the contrast but the red filter gives that effect
anyway. 

And you think you have a pretty good idea of what the shot is going to end up
looking like, you're planning on darkening the sides by burning.

And when you do;
it does!!!

You say out loud:
"Gee this print is just like I Previsualized it!!" and look all smug and self satisfied.

Then you go have a tofu burger.

I think we've all done this and it's a nice when we know what we are going to do
with something ahead of time instead of feeling though it pleasantly surprising
ourselves with our brilliance in the darkroom.
The person standing next to you when you were doing the shot would never have
seen it this way perhaps.
But he says to you when he see's the print: "Well seen Mark!"
(which would get him strangled less fast than if he said: "Enjoy!!!"

"Sometimes the Magic Works!!" was the name of a custom black and white lab in
portland Oregon which i never went to.
but that frame of mind is ok too.
I've got some Ilford SFX 200 extended Red sensitivity film i'm going to shoot a
few rolls of this weekend at the Gorge.
I'm going to bracket like crazy and if I get anything at all on the film I'll be
thrilled and amazed!!
Won't look like planet Earth and I'm not sure i can previsualize which planet
it's going to look like!
mark rabiner
:)