----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob W"
Subject: Hank & Ansel go head-to-head in desert snapper death struggle
Hi,
I may have mentioned already that I am reading the newly-published
biography
of HCB. While reading it I have also been looking at the book "The Man,
the
Image & the World" as a reference for his photos.
During the recent discussion about snapshots I also checked the book
"Examples - the Making of 40 Photographs" by Ansel Adams.
Strange is it may seem, they both photographed Saint Francis Church in
Taos
from almost exactly the same spot, at a very similar time of day, with
roughly the same angle of view. It's very interesting to compare the
different treatments:
http://tinyurl.com/b8lxq Hansel
http://tinyurl.com/9dafj Gretel
Of course, it is easier if you have decent (book) prints in front of you.
Adams was there first, in 1929. HCB photographed it in 1947, I think. I'm
sure HCB was well aware of the Adams photo. My guess is that he had it in
mind when he photographed it himself. Perhaps he was thinking of the
famous
question "Gee, Ansel. Aren't there any people in New Mexico?" (was it W E
Smith who asked that?).
I think the comparison may be an interesting way to separate the sheep
from
the goats, photographically. I don't know which is which, by the way.
I prefer the HCB version, as you might expect, although I don't think it's
a
great photo. It is doom-laden and heavy. You can feel the weight and the
scale of the building; it's massive like a pyramid. I don't get that from
the Adams photo. Instead, next to the HCB, it feels rather trivial and
lightweight - almost an academic exercise in tonality and printing rather
than an attempt to show something about the building.
It will be interesting to hear what others think about this unusual
comparison. Especially the people who've been there.
HCB got a better sky, and if morbidity is what floats your boat, he has that
in spades.
I prefer the Adams version (I have seen this one printed by St. Adams).
Ansel wan't trying to sell anything, he was just making a nice picture.
I'm not sure what HCB was trying to say, too much of the message is lost in
the murky depths of the image, as presented.
William Robb
