On Mar 3, 2011, at 14:16 , Darren Addy wrote: > Your tour is conducted by Marc Silber and Ansel's son, Michael > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZlovMptjyQ (17:04) > > Enjoy!
Nice! I had the privilege of that tour in 1969, conducted by Michael's father, Ansel. I was granted access by being in the company of another member of the ƒ64 club, my teacher at the San Francisco Art Institute, Imogen Cunningham, along with FSA photographer John Collier Jr., under whose practiced eye we roamed from the seashores to the rolling hills of the many well known counties north and south of the city. The house was more cluttered and rustic back then, though the darkroom was pretty much the same as in that youtube presentation. What that did not capture was the smell of the chemicals and a just opened box of paper. The ventilation wasn't that bad, but over the years the wood of the room had absorbed so much. It was kept neat by Ansel's assistants. In contrast, Imogen's darkroom up in San Francisco was dark, mostly raw wood stained with years of chemicals. The floor covered in a lattice of 2 x 2s, that made a little splash with each step, informing you of the chemical soup over which it kept you suspended. She was about 86 at the time, and spent few if any hours making prints. We had lunch in Carmel at a picnic table and talked photography through the afternoon. Nope, didn't go on a safari to all the hot spots in Carmel. I was young and for the past 40 years have grown to be grateful, much more so than at the time, for the time Ansel gave me, as well as the two years given to me studying under such iconic photographers as Imogen and John. Imogen died in 1976, six years after my 1970 graduation. John died in February, 1992, while in Costa Rica. I was not aware he was in San Jose at the time, as I was hiking all over Costa Rica myself, on a shoot for an Eco travel brochure. How paths cross, unknowing, in life, the occurrence to be perhaps discovered at a later time by one or both. Joseph McAllister Lots of gear, not much time http://gallery.me.com/jomac -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
