magnachromagnon VOLUME 1, ISSUE 3, BUILD 2 Focus on Black & White SOAPBOX: The Contemplative Photograph HOT MODS: S.K. Grimes Builds the Whatsitcam 4-SQUARE: Oscar Reina PROJECT: Allen Rumme: Markings INTERVIEW: Don Kirby & Joan Gentry PORTFOLIO: Parallels: 16 Photographs CENTERFOLD: Bernhard Hartmann ROUNDUP: Four Focusing Hoods FEATURE: The Carbon Transfer Process VISION: B.A. Bosaiya: Angels and Insects REVIEW: Ebony SW23 PARTING SHOT: Foundry Foreman The Alternative Journal of Medium and Large Format Photography Format Large and Journal of Medium The Alternative Storm Cloud Over Comb Ridge © 2007 Don Kirby xxx [THE SOAPBOX] The Contemplative Photograph hat separates the “wholeness” which only comes Great photographs, on the oth- makes for better photographs merely good photo- by way of dedication to the er hand, stand the test of time, than complicated equipment. graph from the great? quest and acceptance of all the much like a deep relationship. Having the latest and greatest And what does that hardships it entails. In fact, the photograph itself and newest and badest equip- Whave to do with shooting with a can be considered an expres- ment won’t help you one bit in The other half of oneness in- BIG camera? sion of the commitment of pho- getting pictures that count. In volves empathy with your sub- tographer to subject. In gener- fact, it probably will prevent I’d argue that the key to great ject. Empathy involves curiosity, al, the greater the photograph, you from getting there since photography is simply this: be- gained knowledge, and active the greater the investment and you’ll inevitably be more con- coming one with your subject. investigation. In short, true commitment (unfortunately for cerned about scratches and empathy demands an invest- Whether it is a lonely vigil walk- most of us, the opposite is not wear and tear on your expen- ment in time getting to learn ing the empty grasslands and true at all!) sive new toys than investing and understand the true nature wheatfields of the American yourself in your subject. In a of your subject. Last but not least, it is impor- West or staying up late to cap- very real way, less is more. tant to realize that simple ture the rotating stars or zoom- A quickie snapshot is always equipment So travel light, go where your ing in to the microscopic worlds distant from its subject — no heart takes you, learn to re- of the unseen, the dedication matter how close the cam- spect and love your subject, involved in lugging and setting era is to the and make art for yourself and up your big equipment pretty subject. don’t worry if there is a mar- much guarantees that you are There is no ket for your photos or not. already half-way there to be- investment The reward is the quest itself. coming one with your subject. other than The universe will reward you for being in the J Michael Sullivan your arduous quest. right place at the right I’d also suggest that the ease time. One with which one can pocket a could reason- small camera puts you at an ably compare immediate disadvantage since a snapshot to there is no “skin in the game” a one night (i.e. there was no effort in- stand — per- volved in “getting there”) — in haps full of the end photographs taken with passion but in small cameras are mostly about the end devoid skill (and a bit of luck). of any deep But the kind of photography meaning since I’m talking about embodies a there is none. photo by Megan Sullivan CONTRIBUTORS v 1.3 J Michael Sullivan Lance Keimig Sandy King Don Kirby & Joan Gentry Boston-based J Michael Sullivan has Lance Keimig is a Pembroke, Mass- Sandy King is a photographer and In retrospect, striking parallels been writing about scanning, design, sachusetts based photographer who photo historian. He has published emerge in the photographic lives of and digital photography for nearly is best known for his night time pho- several scholarly books on Spanish Joan Gentry and Don Kirby. Grow- 18 years. His first digital scans were tographs of the built environment. Pictorialism, including El impresion- ing up in New Mexico, Joan complet- made in 1989 using Photoshop v1.0. Keimig has been photographing pri- ismo fotogáfico en España: Una histo- ed BA and MA degrees in photogra- He is the author of one of the first marily at night since 1984, when he ria de la estética y la técnia de la foto- phy at the University of New Mexico layperson’s book on flatbed scanning first picked up a 35mm camera. grafía pictorilaista and Schmidt de in the mid-1970’s. For the next 20 How to Make Your Scanner a Great Lance Keimig has been teach- las Heras: Fotografías 1944-1960. years she photographed in New Mex- Design & Production Tool which was ing photography since 1997, at the Sandy is also a landscape pho- ico and northern California. published by North Light Books in School of the Museum of Fine Arts tographer who works primarily with In the mid-1970’s Don built his 1994 and reprinted as a second edi- and the New England School of Pho- large format and ultra large format first darkroom and self-studied pho- tion two years later in 1996. tography in Boston, as well as leading cameras and prints with alternative tography with workshop support. Formerly a Contributing Editor workshops in California, Massachu- processes, including carbon, kalli- For the next twenty years he photo- at HOW Magazine, he also has ex- setts, Ireland and Scotland. In 2003 type and Platinum/Palladium. graphed throughout the west. tensive experience lecturing at Mac- Keimig founded the Mono Lake Photo He is the author of a book on car- Don and Joan met in 1992, World and The Seybold Seminars Workshops in California, to promote bon printing, The Book of Carbon and joined lives and photographic ven- throughout the 1990s. interest in the fragile ecosystem of the Carbro, and has conducted numer- tures, and lately moved to Santa Fe As editor and publisher of MAGNA- Eastern Sierra through photography. ous workshops in the US and abroad where they continue to pursue their chrom he feels nothing rocks more After successful programs in 2003 on carbon printing. photographic interests. than a BIG camera. Mr. Sullivan has and 2004, Keimig and Nocturnes been shooting professionally with founder Tim Baskerville co-produced B.A. Bosaiya Oscar Reina medium and large format equipment the 2006 Night Photography Confer- B.A. Bosaiya is a self-taught, award- Mr. Reina’s relationship with photog- since the late 1970s and owns a ence at Mono Lake. winning, internationally recognized raphy dates from his school years. bunch of big cameras. Eric Biggerstaff fine art photographer who special- After a long hiatus during college, he izes in large format photographs of picked up photography with deep- Eric Biggerstaff has been engaging unusual subjects. “I enjoy finding er interest in 2004, working in the his interest in photography since he the beauty in the overlooked and street and documentary field using was eleven years old. He first used discarded, exploring the extraordi- 35mm rangefinders. In part due to his camera to record the many back- nary world that is all around us ev- his interest in classic cameras, his packing and rockclimbing trips he ery day. The world is still mysterious first step into medium format came made as a young man and later, after and full of surprises; I hope to help in the shape of a USSR made Lubitel, college, began working with medium people rekindle that sense of won- He currently splits his time between format and large format cameras to der.” Bosaiya’s first book of photog- his job as a computing engineer and explore the world in a more artistic raphy Here There Be Dragons, avail- his photographic projects, which way. Since 1995, Eric has used a able from Amazon.com and others, have turned towards scenics and na- 4x5 camera almost exclusively and includes a foreword by photographic ture, with a special interest in por- is a dedicated traditional darkroom luminary and master printer Dr. Tim traying the vanishing traces of past worker and a frequent contributor to Rudman. human activity in rural areas. 1.3 View Camera magazine. hatever we come upon that is great, beautiful, significant, can- not be recollected. It must from the first be evolved from within Wus, be made and become part of us, developed into a new and better self, and so, continuously created in us, live and operate as part of us. — Goethe e careful and do not imprudently strain yourself in this work. Rely more on joyful enthusiasm than sheer brute force. 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