Hi Gang ... Today I took in Salgado's exhibit, Migrations, along with visiting list member Cory Waters. We had a very enlightening and enjoyable day, although the two hours spent viewing the photographs was exhausting. The photos are very strong, very powerful, and very well done. Some of them brought me to tears, even though I'd seen them published before in the book.
Salgado uses TX and T-Max 3200 films that many people complain are "too grainy" and that the tonality of TX leaves something to be desired. Let me say here and know that these are the best quality B&W prints I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot of exhibition quality B&W prints, including those made by WES, Weston, Lange, Gordon Parks, and others. First, even at close viewing, there is very little granularity showing in the TX prints, the smallest of which were 11x14, with some prints substantially larger at 20x24 and 24x34. The detail is fantastic, even at the far corners of the prints. Some glow with a luminosity of an Ansel Adams landscape. This is an exhibition that must be seen by anyone interested in photography, especially B&W documentary photography. http://www.terra.com.br/sebastiaosalgado/migrations/e/ http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2002/01/18_salgado.html Now, one of the conversations often heard on the Pentax list is that equipment doesn't matter. Good photographs can be made with almost any decent camera and lens. I've subscribed to that idea myself to a degree, although those who know my preferences know that I constantly seek sharpness and resolution from my lenses. While good "images" can be made with most any lens, a great photograph requires the finest equipment possible to wring the most detail from the subject and put it on the film, excellent exposures, precise developing, and superb darkroom equipment and technique. There is no way that the quality obtained by Salgado in these prints could have been the result of even average, or above average, equipment. Since most people don't make very large prints, and since most people have never seen a truly superior quality B&W photograph, and therefore have little by which to judge quality, my words here may be wasted. There is a difference! If you are serious about making high quality prints, then check the quality of your lenses - make sure they are, indeed, superb. Be sure your camera body and lenses are perfectly aligned, that the camera focuses precisely - and forget using DOF to mask focusing errors, it just doesn't work with large-sized prints. Use the finest enlarging lens you can, be sure your enlarger is perfectly aligned and solidly mounted. When you've done all that, when the equipment can handle what your mind can imagine, then all you need is talent and skill. I urge everyone to see this exhibit, to see some of the most moving and important photographs of our time, both for the story they tell and for their technical excellence. Dates and places of future exhibits are here: http://www.aperture.org/view.php?view=viewTravexcal As a photographer, and as a human being, you must find the time to see this exhibition and feel the impact of these photos. -- Shel Belinkoff mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.earthlink.net/~belinkoff/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
