Ansel Adams in LA

[cgw126 151]

So much variety in singular vision:

Ansel Adams' Photos of Pre-War Los Angeles Feature in New Exhibit

Adams' work wasn't all mountains and rivers.

petapixel.com

 

[smoke665]

Always interesting to look back at the celebrated photographers of the past. However, I invariably end up asking myself these questions:
1. If you posted one of their lesser known shots today anonymously, would it still garner the same appreciation?
2. If the photographer were alive today what would they think of today's photographers.

 

[cgw126 151]

Always interesting to look back at the celebrated photographers of the past. However, I invariably end up asking myself these questions:
1. If you posted one of their lesser known shots today anonymously, would it still garner the same appreciation?
2. If the photographer were alive today what would they think of today's photographers.

You've tossed this one out before.
Who talked about the difference between "tastes" and "taste?" Photographically, an obscure Irving Penn or Avedon would still rate more than a passing glance today. Why? That's the meat of this discussion. Everything we shoot is on the conveyor belt to become an artifact of our time. Still, some images endure and escape their milieu.
Can only guess that Adams would be entranced by current technical capabilities. I fished out a 2016 NYT Design magazine supplement today for some furniture ideas. What got me was how editorial images had changed, shaped in no small part by what we see now on phones via social media.

 

[webestang6418]

Can only guess that Adams would be entranced by current technical capabilities.

He did embrace polaroid's and laser scanning. Makes me think he would have liked digital.

 

[smoke665]

Photographically, an obscure Irving Penn or Avedon would still rate more than a passing glance today

Would it?? We live in a time when fiction meets reality on the big screen everyday. People have been desensitized to everything but the wow factor. A glance doesn't cut it in the click scroll world.

Can only guess that Adams would be entranced by current technical

I would agree with that. The only problem is, he would be a baby in the world we've grown up in. There's a learning curve for technology.