Well I finally made to the Salgado exhibit in Berkeley, and was pleasantly surprised to get a “two-for”, as there was an Ansel Adams exhibit running too! I hit the Salgado exhibit first. What did I think? In a word, “Wow........”. I was stunned by the images. I did not bother to count them, but there must have been around 250 of Salgado’s images on display. There were several images where traditional rules of composition were broken; like feet cropped off at the bottom of the frame, building tips cropped at the top, and people posed with their faces centered in the image... And they were still incredible, powerful and moving images. All were printed to 16X or 20X, and the darkroom work was masterful. This is a “must see” exhibit in my book. I love the work of Ansel Adams too... And it hurts to say it, but I’ll add this comment at the risk of committing heresy: after Salgado’s work, the Adams images on display seemed like simple postcards...

Cheers,

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), February 21, 2002

Answers

Wow, how well did the 16-20X blowups demonstrate the sharpness of the Leica R6.2 Selgado used? I would say that if it's comparable to medium format quality, Leica is definitely a good run for the mill :)...

Apart from the technics, I really believe that Selgado's humanity is apparently in the shots. For me, I can relate to his work personally better than Ansel Adams' prints. On the other hand, Adams was revolutionary in conceiving of the zone system of photography and Selgado is a quieter sort of revolutionary in his unusual depiction of human subjects. I just wish that Adams did more people portraits to be honest.

-- Alfie Wang (leica_phile@hotmail.com), February 21, 2002.

Hi Jack, you there last Saturday? I, the same, finally made it since already missed the one(Ansel Adams) in SF MOMA, and I can't miss this one. I spotted a guy with M6 and 35mm Lux, and we're both shooting inside, he's closer to SS room, and I was doing internal arch using 21mm lens. Anyway, we felt so heavy afterwards, kind of losing appetite for the whole weekend, good and touching pics, I can never be a photojournalist, basically I'll run out of tears first and can't hold a camera steady enough. I would think it's a job requires all courage and talents to properly record such moments in human history. Ansel's is the collection from school itself, not the best part of his work, but really a relief just seeing postcard. Thanks for bringing this information to us months ago, in CA not many opps like this! "migration" is simpy a masterpiece and amazing, I'd recommand anyone(in CA or west coast) should try to make it. Fred Fred Ouyang

-- Fred Ouyang (yo54@columbia.edu), February 21, 2002.

Jack, I agree with you, but consider that a lot of Ansel Adams work on display was his "commercial" side. This was not his passion, but hired gun shots, and not what we are accustomed to seeing from him. That said, Salagado is a master of his suject and medium like few others. It was incredible.

-- Anam Alpenia (aalpenia@dasar.com), February 22, 2002.

how much longer are ansel adams and salgado going to be in berkeley? is it at the museum right on bancroft across from the university? thanks for the info.

-- Matthew Geddert (geddert@yahoo.com), February 22, 2002.

Matthew,

Exhibit running through March 24. More details at the following URL:

http://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/exhibits/index.html

-- Anam Alpenia (aalpenia@dasar.com), February 22, 2002.

Hello Jack. The Salgado exhibit here in Australia affected me the same. ..only matched by the Magnum exhibit. ..I always remember a good black and white image ..much more than a color counterpart. Regards.

-- Sheridan Zantis (albada60@hotmail.com), February 22, 2002.

Jack, Your reaction at the Ansel Adams portion echoes my feelings as well. I've believed for years he was overrated. Some icons never die because -- oops, I was about to wax philosophic. Apologies!

Salgado rules. See the exhibit.

-- Patrick (pg@patrickgarner.com), February 22, 2002.

When the Workers exibit was touring the States The closest it came to where I live was a 7 hour drive. I took a chance and made the journey. I was not dissapointed. 20"X24" prints of high speed 35mm film mastefully printed. I still have a poster of the exhibit hanging in my office.

In defense of Adams work(not that it needs defending)if you are ever in Tuscon AZ. go to the University of AZ. The Center for Creative Photography is on the campus. You can book a 2 hour appointment to view prints made by hundreds of famous photographers. They have portfolios of Adams. Eugene Smith, Tina Modoti etc. etc. Seeing the real prints up close and personal gave me a greater appreciation of the artists. The prints you see in books pale in comparison. Although I am not a great fan of Adams, his prints are stunning. Some of them almost look like giant B&W transparencies on a light box.

Steve

-- Steve Belden (otterpond@adelphia.net), February 22, 2002.

how well did the 16-20X blowups demonstrate the sharpness of the Leica R6.2 Selgado used?

Alfie: As I understand it, Salgado used three M6's (w/28,35&50) and three R6.2's, and I have no way of knowing which images were shot with which cameras, but assume that the longer lens and the very wide shots were the R's. FWIW, ALL of the 16X images were incredibly sharp, and many were almost grainless. The 20X shots started to show some softness -- but you had to view them from about 18" to see it (!) -- and more notable grain. I know that Slagado uses Kodak B&W emulsions exclusively (I've heard Tri-X and T-Max 3200), and after seeing his work yesterday, I am throwing out my remaining rolls Delta and switching back to Tri-X. Or I'd be happy to ship them to whoever wants to pay the postage! About 8 rolls worth. First to email me can have it.

Hi Jack, you there last Saturday?

Fred: No, yesterday (Thursday), but I did have my Leica on my shoulder. Snot-nosed kid told me I couldn't shoot inside the museum though...

Regarding Ansel's work: I've never thought he was over-rated, just that the particular work on display paled next to Salgado's. Also, these were not book prints, but exhibition prints. Though only a few were from his well-known body of work. I have seen much of Adams' work in the past and have been awed by it. But for some reason, it did not move me very much yesterday. By contrast I felt drained after viewing Salgado's images...

One last comment: I have always shot primarily in color. Seeing Salgado's work yesterday motivates me to (attempt to) work with B&W only...

:-),

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), February 22, 2002.

I would say that if it's comparable to medium format quality, Leica is definitely a good run for the mill

One more comment: I recently sold all of my remaining Nikon gear -- Actually I traded for a Contax 645 outfit and lenses. I have owned many MF outfits in the past, and the only ones I ever thought delivered significantly better images than the 35 were the 6x7's (RZ67 and Mamiya 7). The 645's I tried (Pentax and Mamiya) didn't really give me much. I have tested one of Contax 645 lenses (the 80) and found it to be very good. About as good as Leica's pre-asph versions. So at a 2.7X multiplier, it still should deliver marginally better images than the 35. I'll let you know when I get around to having a large print made. BTW, the Bokeh on the Contax lenses is AWESOME!!! IMO even better than pre-asph Leicas.

:-),

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), February 22, 2002.

Or I'd be happy to ship them to whoever wants to pay the postage! About 8 rolls worth. First to email me can have it.

Well, I guess this is where I step up to bat. Hey Jack, is this Delta 100 that you have (can withstand X-ray?). If it is then I'll give you your cost on it + postage to Canada... I need the film and would like to help you absorb the cost of Mike's new lens... as best as I can.

Best,

John.

-- John (ouroboros_2001@yahoo.com), February 22, 2002.

John:

Happy to send it to you for shipping costs only, but it is mostly Delta 400 - maybe a roll of Across and a roll of D3200...

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), February 22, 2002.

Great. If you can send it by ground mail I'll send you a personal cheque for shipping (don't worry, it won't bounce... I hope). I'll email you my address as I don't want to post it on the board.

Your a real pal!

John.

-- John (ouroboros_2001@yahoo.com), February 22, 2002.

It was after viewing an Eisenstaedt exhibit in Chicago that I decided that 35mm did it all. It is in the developing and processing.

-- Frank Horn (owlhoot45@hotmail.com), February 22, 2002.

i am thinking about going this weekend. where's the best place to park? do they let you bring your camera in and keep it with you? i

-- Tristan (tt@tristan.net), February 22, 2002.

Jack: In the same spirit, I have (5) rolls of Tri-x & (4) rolls of Plus-x, both in 120, I'm not using since sellng my MF gear. Let me know if you'd like these for your Contax 645. If so, send me your address off line & I'll put them in the mail to you next week at no cost to you. BTW, the expiration date of the Plus-x is 2/02, so you'd want to put it to use sometime soon. Take care.

-- Ken Prager (pragerproperties@worldnet.att.net), February 22, 2002.

And the Karmic pendulum swings...

Thanks Ken!

:-))))),

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), February 23, 2002.

And the Karmic pendulum swings...

Oh, I almost forgot... I also have 5 rolls of Tmax 100 (120) and 2 rolls of XP2 Super (120). The XP2 is dated Sept. 2001 and the Tmax Mar. 2002 but both films have been stored at -40 their whole lives so these emulsions still have a year left on them. Since I don't foresee myself getting back into MF in the next year or so these things are also up for grabs by any starving artists. Interested Jack?

Ciao.

-- John (ouroboros_2001@yahoo.com), February 23, 2002.

You bet! I'll let somebody else go for the XP2, but I'd be happy to get some of the Tri-x.

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), February 23, 2002.

John, what coincidence. I've been wanting to try some XP2. And what a coincidence, I've been wanting to take my Rolleiflex out for a spin again. I'll take it, if it's still available.

This is kind of a neat, a get-rid-of-film-you-don't-need exchange.

-- Richard (rvle@yahoo.com), February 23, 2002.