Resources for Chapter 7 —
The Camera is Not an Eye
Diane Arbus (1923-1971)
She once said to Studs Terkel "I grew up feeling immune and exempt from
circumstance. One of the things I suffered from was that I never felt adversity.
I was confirmed in a sense of unreality." Her awareness of living in an
unreal world seems to be the source of her fascination with people on the fringes.
At the age of 13, she met Allan Arbus, the man who would be her first husband,
and married him five years later. They established a fashion photography business
together, and shared credit on published works. During that time, Allan gave
Diane her first camera. She left the fashion business to pursue her own photography
in 1956, with Allan's support, a year after one of their photos appeared in the
Family of Man exhibition at MoMA. They separated three years later, and remained
friends for another ten years, until he re-married in 1969 and moved to California
to become an actor. During the separation, she took a class with Lisette Model,
who encouraged her to master the technical aspects of photography and mine her
fascination with the unorthodox. Her commercial portraits developed the distinctive,
unsettling look that she is known for, and she was awarded Guggenheim fellowships
in 1963 and 1966 for her personal work. She met John Szarkowski in 1967, and
was featured in the MoMA show "New Documents" in 1967. She took her
own life at age 48, during a bout of depression.
metmuseum.org/special/Arbus/arbus_images.asp
npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/twins/
Diane Arbus: A Biography, W.W. Norton & Co., 2006
Diane Arbus: An Aperture Monograph by Doon Arbus, Marvin Israel, and Diane
Arbus, Aperture, 2005
Diane Arbus Revelations, Random House, 2003
Canon 1Ds Mark III
Flagship model of the Canon digital SLR line. Canon also makes the 1D Mark
III based on the same body.
dpreview.com/reviews/CanonEOS1DSMarkIII/
kenrockwell.com/canon/1ds-mk-iii.htm
dxomark.com/index.php/eng/Image-Quality-Database/Canon/EOS-1Ds-Mark-III
canon.com
George Eastman (1854-1932)
Before George Eastman and the Kodak Company, photographers generally worked
with wet glass plates that had to be prepared moments before exposure,
and heavy, cumbersome equipment. He became obsessed with simplifying
the process. Eastman learned about gelatin emulsions being made in England.
Unlike wet plates, gelatin emulsion could be made ahead of time and remained
photosensitive. Eastman devised a gelatin emulsion and went into business
making ready-to-use dry plates. As the business developed, he determined
that his mission was "to make the camera as convenient as the pencil." From
there, he went on to find a replacement for glass as a support for the
emulsion. He introduced the Kodak camera in 1888 with the slogan "you
press the button, we do the rest."
kodak.com/US/en/corp/kodakHistory/eastmanTheMan.shtml
eastmanhouse.org
George Eastman : A Biography by Elizabeth Brayer, University of Rochester
Press, 2006
Fuji FinePix IS-1 and IS PRO
Dedicated infrared digital cameras. See also Infrared, below.
fujifilmusa.com
dpreview.com/news/0701/07010403fujifilmfinepixis1.asp
dpreview.com/news/0707/07071304fujifilmispro.asp
FX (Full-Frame) Format
Nikon's designation for what Canon refers to as "full-frame" digital
sensors. These are 24 x 36mm sensors, the same size as a 35mm film frame.
The advantage of these sensors is that they can have larger photosites
compared to smaller (DX) sensors, resulting in much lower noise at high
ISO and better shadow detail. Another advantage is that there is no cropping
or multiplier effect the way there is with DX. Currently, Nikon offers
three bodies with the FX sensor, the D3x, D3 and D700. Canon's full-frame
models are the 1Ds, the 1D and the 5D.
Nikon D3 and D700 vs. Canon 5D Comparison:
kenrockwell.com/nikon/d3-d700-5d.htm
Full-frame sensors according to the mfrs:
nikon.com/about/technology/core/optical_e/cmos/index.htm
nikon.com
canon.com
Nikon reviews:
dpreview.com/reviews/NikonD3X/
kenrockwell.com/nikon/d3.htm
dpreview.com/reviews/NikonD700/
kenrockwell.com/nikon/d700.htm
Canon reviews:
dpreview.com/reviews/CanonEOS1DSMarkIII/
kenrockwell.com/canon/1d-mk-iii.htm
dpreview.com/reviews/CanonEOS5DMarkII/
kenrockwell.com/canon/5d-mk-ii.htm
Hassleblad H3D
Medium-format SLR that is aimed at the pro market. These cameras feature
digital sensors that are even larger than "full-frame" 35mm
– format DSLRs, and create image files that are 30 megapixels or larger.
These capabilities come at a price — more than many people pay for their
cars.
hasselbladusa.com
dpreview.com/news/0701/07012902hasselbladh3d-31.asp
Infrared Digital Photography
Alternative approaches to making digital infrared photos are covered.
Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999)
Known worldwide for Full Metal Jacket, The Shining, Barry Lyndon, A Clockwork
Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Dr. Strangelove, etc. A one-of-a-kind
genius and perfectionist filmmaker, Kubrick pushed technical boundaries
in many of his films, and often had his cameras modified to get the shots
that he needed.
kubrick.com
www.visual-memory.co.uk/sk/ac/len/page1.htm
imdb.com/name/nm0000040/
Leaf
Maker of digital backs and software for medium-format cameras and the AFi-II
medium-format digital camera.
Leica
The company that put the 35mm camera on the map. Their sharp lenses, small
size and nearly noiseless operation made the Leica M system a cult camera.
The M8.2 is a digital version of the classic camera.
Lensbaby Composer
One of three selective-focus systems made by Lensbaby. The Muse and Control
Freak are updated versions of older designs that use the same optic swap
system as the Composer.
Barry Lyndon
The film is based on a novel by William Makepeace Thackeray that was first
serialized in Fraser’s Magazine in 1844. Instead of writing a traditional
screenplay, Kubrick wrote a bare bones adaptation of the novel and used
it to guide him during filming. He wanted to create the most authentic
period film ever made, and shot only on real locations — no sets. He
also attempted to use only natural sunlight and candlelight. Many of
the interior scenes in this film take place indoors under candlelight.
Kubrick had an f/.07 still camera lens fitted to his movie cameras so
that he would not have to use fill light on the candle-lit scenes. He
wanted to preserve the natural patina and feeling of these old castles
at night as they actually were. The addition of any fill light would
have added an artificiality to the scene that he did not want. He also
push-processed the entire film, so that he'd get the exposure he needed
in the candlelight scenes, and so that both the day and night scenes
would match up.
imdb.com/title/tt0072684/
www.visual-memory.co.uk/sk/ac/len/page1.htm
www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/interview.bl.html
Mamiya ZD
A 22 megapixel digital back for medium-format cameras. Mamiya also makes
the DL camera system, which mates a Leaf digital back to a Mamiya 645
body.
Nikon D3X
Flagship model of the Nikon digital SLR line. Nikon also makes the D3,
based on the same body.
dpreview.com/reviews/NikonD3X/
kenrockwell.com/nikon/d3x.htm
dxomark.com/index.php/eng/Image-Quality-Database/Nikon/D3X
nikon.com
Phase One
A maker of digital backs for medium-format cameras and Capture One software.
They have partnered with Mamiya to produce the Phase One 645 medium-format
camera. Phase One is a direct competitor to Leaf. Capture One is positioned
against Lightroom as an alternative RAW workflow that supports tethered
shooting, a popular technique in fashion photography.
Photo-Secession & Pictorialism
Founded by Alfred Stieglitz in New York in 1902, with the aim of advancing
photography as a fine art. Members, hand-picked by Stieglitz, included
Edward Steichen, Clarence H. White, Gertrude Käsebier, and Alvin Langdon
Coburn. These photographers broke away from the Camera Club of New York
in 1902 and pursued Pictorialism, which used techniques of manipulating
negatives and prints so as to approximate the effects of drawings, etchings,
and oil paintings. Printing methods included gum bichromate and platinum
prints. Stieglitz championed the goals of the Photo-Secession in his
magazine Camera Work and at the Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession,
located at 291 Fifth Avenue. The group unofficially disbanded in 1910,
though the gallery remained open until 1917.
metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pict/hd_pict.htm
Stephen Shore
A pioneer of color photography whose work bears comparison to that of William
Eggleston. There are significant differences, of course, but Shore's
deadpan images also focus on banal street scenes and objects, and they
are twinned in conveying legitimacy to color photography. Where Eggleston
was drawn to the hyped color of the dye transfer process, Shore prefers
to make contact prints from 8 x 10 color negatives. He has acknowledged
that he loves color film because it records the differences in the color
of light at different times of the day. Shore was greatly influenced
by Walker Evans' book American Photographs. At age 14, he had the opportunity
to present his portfolio to the director of MoMA's photography department,
Edward Steichen, who purchased three images. Three years later, he met
Andy Warhol and began to frequent The Factory. In 1971, at age 24, Shore
became the second living photographer to have a solo show at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York. Photographers Nan Goldin, Andreas Gursky,
Martin Parr, Joel Sternfeld , and Thomas Struth, have all acknowledged
his influence on their work. He has been the director of the photography
department at Bard College since 1982.
billcharles.com/shore/stephenshore_1.htm
Uncommon Places: The Complete Works by Stephen
Shore, Lynn Tillman, and
Stephan Schmidt-Wulffen, Aperture, 2005
The Nature of Photographs by Stephen Shore, Phaidon Press, 2007
Interview: Image Makers, Image Takers by Anne-Celine Jaeger, Thames & Hudson,
2007
Sinar Hy6
Medium-format analog/digital hybrid camera from Sinar Bron that supports
6 x 6 square and 6 x 4.5 formats. Sinar Bron is the maker of the highly
respected Broncolor strobes.
sinarbron.com/sinar/digital/Hy6.php
Garry Winogrand (1928-1984)
Revered master of street photography. His direct influences include Eugène
Atget, Walker Evans and Robert Frank, and his sense of being in the moment
was related to Henri Cartier-Bresson's decisive moment. His images have
a strong sense of human interest, social concern, narrative, and commentary.
kopeikingallery.com/artists/view/garry-winogrand
photogs.com/bwworld/winogrand.html
Arrivals & Departures: The Airport Pictures
of Garry Winogrand by Lee
Friedlander, Alex Harris, and Garry Winogrand, D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers,
Inc., 2003
Winogrand: Figments From The Real World by John Szarkowski and Garry Winogrand,
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2003