Skills vs Talent

[The_Traveler]

In addition to what Leonore said, Adams' work is accessible by anyone. A mountain is a mountain, etc. So if someone who knew nothing else saw his pictures, they could easily understand the picture and recognize its better-than-human-eye reproduction. Someone like Weston just isn't as easily accessible by the average joe.

 

[Gary A.]

Ansel Adams was a decade or so ahead of his time. Adams spend half of his time in the darkroom perfecting his development and his printing to reflect his exposure and the other half in the field perfecting his exposures to match his development and printing.

This is what Adams did, back in the 1940's (IIRC), when Alfred Eisenstaedt, then chief photographer for Life Magazine, first saw a portfolio of Adams' photographs, he was amazed and speechless. Remember that Eisenstaedt was one of the primere photographer/photojournalist of his day ... Yet he was stunned by the quality of Adams' work. Adams invented an exposure/development system which is sorta like a combo today of histogram and curves. Adams took the photograph places where other professionals of his day never thought a photograph could go. (For clarity as who Eisenstaedt was, he photographed John F. Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchhill and the Navy guy kissing the Nurse in Times Square on VJ Day. Eisenstaedt is who Henri Cartier-Bresson wanted to be. "When I have a camera in my hand, I know no fear," Alfred Eisenstaedt.)

So how big is Adams? Eisenstaedt, who was a giant in his day was humbled by Adams photographs.

In perspective, yes any/most/some of us can, 50+ years later, duplicate an Adams photograph, but can any of us create/craft a final image which is a decade better than what is being produced today? I say not.

 

[Gary A.]

As to Neil Leifer ... On any Sunday.

 

[table1349]

To me it is pretty simple. It comes down to:

 

[Overread]

Gryph wait are you saying that we are all sled dogs running in harness along a predefined pathway selected by some godly power that issues out free food?

 

[robbins.photo]

Gryph wait are you saying that we are all sled dogs running in harness along a predefined pathway selected by some godly power that issues out free food?

Ok, so now I'm sitting here hoping we didn't accidentally create a new religion of some sort.

I guess my thought is this, would someone of Adams talent get noticed today and recognized the way he was, or would it be a case where we see so many images everywhere that they just wouldn't stand out well enough to the masses to ever receive that level of recognition?



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[table1349]

Gryph wait are you saying that we are all sled dogs running in harness along a predefined pathway selected by some godly power that issues out free food?

No I'm saying that if you ain't the lead dog the view never changes. Nor the smell.

 

[chuasam]

Yes but many forgeries are actually better than the originals.