Is it still True ? (Page 3): I attended a show of works that AA owned, or impressed him. Among the works was three small prints of his Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico. The first was...

Laramie Loc: Tempe

I attended a show of works that AA owned, or impressed him. Among the works was three small prints of his Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico. The first was reported to be similar to what came out of camera. The next was altered in the printing process, improving contrast and lighting. The third was the image we all know; dark sky, light clouds. All of it. The photograph was just the start, The printing process made him famous.

BebuLamar

I say that what AA said was true when he said it but no longer true today.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

Laramie wrote:

I attended a show of works that AA owned, or impressed him. Among the works was three small prints of his Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico. The first was reported to be similar to what came out of camera. The next was altered in the printing process, improving contrast and lighting. The third was the image we all know; dark sky, light clouds. All of it. The photograph was just the start, The printing process made him famous.

Ansel Adams was one of the greatest manipulators of images there every was. Ansel and Photoshop would have been like a duck and water. On this site was the first time I saw the unaltered print of Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico. I did not even recognize it as the image I had come to know. I could see all the parts of the image that he both played down and brought forth in the final image. But even though he altered his images, he only brought forth the importance of the image he saw: altered and yet not altered. And, yes, Ansel might have remove items in Photoshop if he were alive today. And because of that ability, he might have modified his previous statement to encompass today's post processings.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

cedymock wrote:

“Not everybody trusts paintings but people believe photographs.” – Ansel Adams

Only the naïve. "Photoshop" has become a verb, indicating an image is lying to us.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

jerryc41 wrote:

Only the naïve. "Photoshop" has become a verb, indicating an image is lying to us.

Not necessarily lying. Just not showing the original whole truth. It can be used to lie if one wants to. Most photographers just use it to enhance the image's original message.

Ched49 Loc: Pittsburgh, Pa.

cedymock wrote:

After reading a post by fellow UHH Paul Diamond ( link below ) about 42 quotes by Ansel Adams I have this question from one of the quotes.

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-711590-1.html

“Not everybody trusts paintings but people believe photographs.” – Ansel Adams

In today's world, nobody should trust photographs either with photo shop going on!

Retina Loc: Near Charleston,SC

This thread reminds me of a visit to the Eastman House in December of 1972 while attending All-State Band in Rochester. During a break my teacher asked whether anyone wanted to go. I had no idea what it was about. It was stunning, to say the least. I will never forget the Adams collection. Prints by others were also captivating, but his held my eyes the longest. There were some paintings by Richard Estes as well. To me, ethics had nothing to do with how these images were produced. With apologies for my ignorance about art, some of Warhol's works left me wondering why they were considered to be masterpieces, and whether marketing, drugs, or both had something to do with it.

Richard West Loc: Finger Lakes Region in upstate NY

🤣. Very true.

Bill.Doub

bob7fred wrote:

As a realist painter, with oils, I would agree. I may paint from a photo, but things are changed and not necessarily as in the photo. But then Ansel didn’t have PhotoShop, or Paint Shop, or other programs that change sky and background, and remove objects, and place objects. Then a diddled picture ca be printed in high rez on good photo paper, and displayed as a photograph. So, in Ansel’s time, that was true. Today, not so much.

True, Ansel Adams didn't have photoshop, but he was a grandmaster in the darkroom where he spent more time than he did in the field. Since most of his work was in black and white (at least the more famous prints), he could do an incredible job of altering the relationship between the subject and the sky and/or background (although, sometimes those were the subject). Be aware that objects can be removed in darkroom processing.

fetzler Loc: North West PA

cedymock wrote:

After reading a post by fellow UHH Paul Diamond ( link below ) about 42 quotes by Ansel Adams I have this question from one of the quotes.

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-711590-1.html

“Not everybody trusts paintings but people believe photographs.” – Ansel Adams

I think that Ansel was correct but nobody should believe photos either. Photos, even in the film era, can be and were doctored. There are many examples of politicians eliminated from photos by the Soviet government. Even unedited photos can be taken from a position or an instant of time that leads one to a false impression.

Anything is OK for artistic expression but documentation of a real event can sometimes be difficult.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

billnikon wrote:

And prints are no longer excepted as evidence in most trials because they can be manipulated.

I did some forensic photos (wounds, scars, etc.) back in the film days. Even then, photographs were not automatically accepted as the "truth" in court. Either I had to testify under oath that the photographs were accurate renditions of the scene I shot, or both attorneys had to stipulate they were accurate (which was the usual and I never ended up having to testify).