From: Cactus Cowboy (cactus@tritel.net)
Date: 09/01/02-12:50:22 AM Z
There have been plenty of times I've taken pictures of "beautiful" subjects
and have been very happy with the results. Like Carl, I've also
photographed so-called "ugly things", and produced beautiful images. I've
always felt the important thing is to take pictures to please myself, the
public and critics be damned. So my work ranges widely from mummified
roadkill dogs to pristine winter snowscapes.
Living in NW Wyoming, I've really come to appreciate this list, since I'm
far removed from galleries, art museums, other photographers, etc..... The
lively interchange of information and opinions is entertaining and
educational. Thanks to a contact made through this list, my wife and I had
the great pleasure of having Carl Weese visit during his recent expedition
to photograph drive-in movie theatres in this area. Carl showed us a
portfolio of his stunningly beautiful platinum prints. Wow!
Early the next day, we drove to the Vali Drive-In on Route 295 to capture
the morning light. No question, Carl can definitely set up and shoot film
very quickly with his large format cameras. It's all a matter of practice
and being familiar with the gear. I once nearly got a photo of a deer in
New Jersey with my 4x5, but the little rascal scampered away as I drew the
dark slide out of the holder!
If anyone else is coming out this way (vacation to Yellowstone perhaps),
send me an email and plan to visit.
Best regards,
Dave Rose
Powell, Wyoming
cactus@tritel.net
> > I do not believe I EVER took a picture of
> > something I thought was "beautiful" & was happy with the result.
Carl Weese wrote:
> One of the dealers who handles my work once said that he understood my
> pictures of beautiful things--the Connecticut woods and rivers, the hills
of
> western Virginia--but couldn't quite get his head around my pictures of
ugly
> things--corrugated metal buildings, abandoned drive-in movie theaters. He
> was all the more puzzled when I explained that I only photograph things
that
> strike me as beautiful. In fact, that's all there is to it, I Iook for
> beautiful things and photograph them. But my perception of beauty is quite
a
> bit more catholic, more inclusive, than his.
>
> I also don't understand the business of view cameras being slow. Of course
> they aren't as fast as a 35mm, but the notion that it takes hours to make
a
> photograph with a view camera is nonsense. When I teach view camera
> technique I tell students that you should be able to see something from
the
> car at 70 mph (or while hiking with your gear in a packback) and be
pulling
> the darkslide within ninety seconds. They usually think I'm kidding, but
I'm
> not. (How do you get to use a view camera fast? Same way you get to
Carnegie
> Hall--practice!) When I spend a day out looking for pictures, I take
forever
> looking at things, deciding whether I want them or not. When the decision
is
> yes, I seldom spend more than a couple minutes making the picture whether
> it's done with my 5x7 or my 12x20 or something in between. If I want to
> respond to subjects _instantly_ I work with Leicas, but using a view
camera
> doesn't prevent you from working fast.
>
> ---Carl
>
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