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One of my friends needs a photograph for a book cover so I'm coming out of retirement for one hour this coming Saturday to make that photograph for him. I hope I can remember all this incredibly complex photo and lighting stuff...
In other, more exciting news...
I went to an artist's talk given by my friend, Will van Overbeek, on Sunday afternoon at the Neill Cochran House Museum. The venue was packed. The event was surreptitiously and ably covered by noted photographer, ATMTX. The folks at Tito's Vodka provided alcohol and mixers. Local museum and gallery luminaries, and other photographers, were in attendance and Will V.O. did a great job both entertaining us with a slide show (digital projector) of his work while providing insight into why and how he photographs what he chooses to photograph. In this case the photos being discussed were from his recent project, "Wet Dogs." It's nice to see real, printed photographic art, well framed and hung up in a spacious gallery, with good lighting!
I did not take my new lens. In fact, I didn't take a camera or lens of any kind. I figure a fellow photographer's talk isn't the place for me to wear unneeded, flashy photographic jewelry...
The new lens (Leica 50mm APO SL Summicron) break-in period is gaining traction and I'm becoming more and more comfortable shooting with a lens that actually costs more than the first three cars I owned. It's nearly flawless, optically, but it is large and a bit ostentatious. I first tried it on the SL2-S camera and it did a great job but lately I've attached it to an SL2 camera and I think I like that combo even better. It might be the placebo effect since I know that camera has twice the resolution. Makes me think the images will be twice as resolution-y.
Kind of funny because all of Will's Wet Dog photos were done in the early days of digital and, to add even more "resistance" the making of the images they were all done with early digital point and shoot, fixed lens, compact camera, and mostly coupled with the integrated pop-up flashes that served those cameras. Nothing in the show was done with a camera that was much above 6 megapixels and a few of photographs were done with absolutely prehistoric compact digital cameras --- some with a whopping.... three megapixels of resolution. The 20x30 inch color prints (contrasty and intentionally highly saturated) are presented framed and matted and no-one could discern that the images were made with low res cameras. No one. They look that good. Which makes me wonder what the heck I'm doing with all this pricey, high end gear.
Incidentally, if you have a hankering for one of the "Wet Dog" images they are for sale for $950 each, unframed. So, 20+ year old, cheap, compact cameras, on camera flashes, wild color printing and a packed house, mostly of people in the business who found the images magnetic and wonderful. A counterpoint perhaps to all of the online influencers who constantly strive to convince us now that nothing less than a 100 megapixel, medium format camera will cut it for professional work. If they only knew what actually constituted professional work...
Will's first big, widely done project was a story about the ROTC culture at Texas A&M University. The Aggie Corps. The project took place back in the 1970s and was initially done for Texas Monthly Magazine. All on black and white film.
Will thought up the project and pitched it, pretty much right out of school at the UT Photojournalism Dept. Will studied with FSA photographer, Russell Lee, and took four or five semesters of classes with visiting lecturer/world famous photographer, Garry Winogrand. More GW than I could endure... but obviously formative. Inspiring?
Here's the magic though. Texas Monthly initially paid for his gas, and film --- and that was it. Will pursued the project, going from Austin to Bryan, Texas on a regular basis for TWO YEARS!!! And instead of timidly standing back and shooting "discreetly" he made friends, got close, shot fearlessly, came back again and again with prints for people he'd photographed, and eventually assimilated into the group. He earned the images. He earned the access. And he put his time into the project.
The photographs were so well received that he was offered a book contract and the book about the Aggies took off like a rocket. And so did his career. And throughout his working career his personal projects have almost always been accomplished using small, cheap, lousy, funky but also pretty good compact cameras. In the film age and then again in the digital age. Different technologies but the same basic idea throughout.
Will said that it's not the gear or really even the photographer but that the world offers up interesting, captivating, wonderful visual stuff. The photographer's job is to recognize the opportunities and record the miracles in front of the camera. Made by the universe. Captured by those lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time with the right skills.
Something to think about. His approach to gear is so antithetical to mine. But you gotta hand it to him; it works. It works really well. Which goes a long way toward explaining why museums and foundations collect his work.
The stuff here, in this post, are photographs I shot with the 50mm lens that probably cost more than all the compact cameras Will has ever purchased. I shot them before I went to see his talk. Now I'm embarrassed by the lack of interesting content. But I guess everyone does their art/hobby differently. No rules other than the ones you make for yourself.
Thanks for reading!
Dry Dogs.
9 comments:
A very kind and insightful article by one who is himself a master. Just ask to see Kirk's classic B&W portraits of ordinary people, the beautiful, and celebrities they are profoundly moving regardless of subject. Also take a look at his whimsical european street photography, better than a cappuccino and a warm croissant!
Kirk, are more portraits in your retirement plans? Not a dog among them.
Gary, I hope to be shooting tons of new portraits this year ----and beyond. Thanks!
Come see Will's van Overbeek's 30 Wet Dogs at the Neill-Cochran House Museum, on display through May 24. Spots are still available in his Photography Seminar 3/28, 2-4:30. https://www.nchmuseum.org/30-wet-dogs
Will and Kirk are a dynamic duo!
I assume you have a regular late model 50mm Summicron. If you do, have you compared the IQ between the two? From my understanding the APO part really only pertains to color accuracy and would have little to no effect on B&W images.
Yes. I do. And I can tell you that the APO 50mm is twice as sharp in color and 50% sharper in B&W. Just look at the MTF curves and you'll easily see than there is a profound difference in overall optical quality. Not just color accuracy. Even more so when compared to the M Regular Summicron version. Your understanding is refuted with a quick study of the MTF graphs. So much higher performance. Objective measures rock.
Hey, anonymous! Think about it. APO means all three colors are focused on exactly the same plane. Even in black and white a lens where the three colors are NOT all focused in the same plane would show smearing from the colors, which create the image, not matching up. Smear or lack of plane registration is always an issue because all imaging starts as color. The sensor is just where they all meet up together; or not. If the colors don't line up it degrades the image regardless. R.A.
Ok, I learned something, BUT my question is whether you have seen any real world (on the screen, or in a large print) difference.
Yes. Very much so.
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