Ansel Adams, or Uncle Earl? (Jack Bog's Blog)

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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on August 14, 2010 3:57 AM. The previous post in this blog was Have a great weekend. The next post in this blog is Another computer security worry. Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

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« Have a great weekend | Main | Another computer security worry »

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Ansel Adams, or Uncle Earl?

A fairytale-come-true that maybe didn't.

Posted at 3:57 AM | Permalink

Comments (7)

If it's too good to be true....

Posted by portland native | August 14, 2010 7:15 AM

The category: Feed the 24/7 News Cycle. Just get a story in the pipeline and if it's not true, you get another later when you explain the hoax.

It now appears even our flight attendant meltdown guy may not be the working class hero initially presented. And even that was shaky - who quits a job in today's economy?

Remember Paul Simon's "The Boy in the Bubble"?:

"These are the days of lasers in the jungle,
Lasers in the jungle somewhere,
Staccato signals of constant information,
A loose affiliation of millionaires
And billionaires..."

Well, we've taken it from "The Boy in the Bubble" to "Balloon Boy" - a ufo-looking, jiffy pop bag floating across the sky on live TV and guess what? There could be a boy inside!!!!!!!!

"We'll follow this breaking story, but now back to the studio."

"Thanks, Biff, we've just gotten word of some old negatives from a famous photographer and get this: They're worth 200 million dollars!"

Posted by Bill McDonald | August 14, 2010 7:54 AM

I think Earl Brooks would be insulted that his work was attributed to that hack Ansel Adams.

Posted by Tom | August 14, 2010 8:22 AM

Like Adams or not, he is the standard bearer. Not Edward Weston, not Paul Strand, not even Stieglitz.

In the case of the particular photo by Brooks, Adams never would have printed that way. Yes, early materials did not have the latitude that papers in the later 20th Century, but that blown out sky would have been anathema to Adams. if that's the best of Brooks, well, what can I say?

Early history of photography is replete with excellent work. One of them, Carlton Watkins, has work in both the Historical Society and I believe the State Library. His work is dynamite!

There are lots of unanswered questions. Was Brooks a colleague of Adams? Did they work together, perhaps in Adams darkroom and left the plate there, subsequently suffering damage? If so, where are his prints before the fire damaged the negs? Is it Brooks plate or Adams?

On and on.

Posted by Lawrence Hudetz | August 14, 2010 10:55 AM

Stieglitz was a pimp. Adams though did write an excellent series on Photography though. No darkroom should be without it.

Posted by Tom | August 14, 2010 12:24 PM

"Stieglitz was a pimp."

Stieglitz pimped who? Strand, Adams, O'Keefe? From your statement, are we to conclude gallery owners are pimps?

Darkrooms are passe'.

I do have the original series, as well as his re-write, which is not as good as the original. I disagree with his film developing data, especially as he refused, on principle, to give such data in the first series. The films profiled are for the most part, unavailable today, along with much of the chemistry.

As for Adams, he well understood the power of darkness and light, and the Oneness derived from the reconciliation of these two polar opposites. The Yin and the Yang. His best prints are singular expressions of that oneness.

Posted by Lawrence Hudetz | August 14, 2010 2:40 PM

The action is joined:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100824/ap_on_en_ot/us_ansel_adams_lost_work

Re: "Darkrooms are passé." (Lawrence Hudetz)

"'Mr. Adams was fond of likening a negative to a composer's score and the prints to its performance — each performance differs in subtle ways,' the lawsuit said. 'The photographic prints and posters offered for sale by defendants ... are not an Ansel Adams "performance."'"

Clearly, performance standards have changed with the move from grain to pixil. Yet the adulation of Adams may be far too much a worship of metaphor. Don't look to the courtroom for much of interest in the way of photographic criticism.

Posted by Gardiner Menefree | August 24, 2010 9:13 AM

In Vino Veritas

Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
Cameron, Chardonnay
B.R. Cohn, Cabernet, Silver Label 2006
Graffigna, Cabernet 2005
Palo Alto, Reserve Red 2008
Menguante, Garnacha 2008
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Felsina Berardenga, Vin Santo 1997
Anne Amie, Pinot Gris 2009
McKinley Springs, Bombing Ramge Red 2007
Vieux Papes Red
Dionysius Chardonnay 2009
Haden Fig, Pinot Noir 2009
Vega Montan, Mencia 2008
Chateau la Vernede, Coteaux du Languedoc 2007
Mount Defiance, Hellfire (White) 2008
Root: 1, Cabernet 2008
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Pinot Grigio 2009
Columbia Crest, Two Vines, Vineyard 10 White, 2008
Columbia Crest, Two Vines, Vineyard 10 Rose, 2007
Abacela, Grenache Rose 2009
Avia Cabernet 2004
Lemelson Pinot Noir, Thea's Selection 2007
Chateau de la Roulerie, Rose d'Anjou 2009
Casal Garcia, Vinho Verde Rose
La Ferme Julien, Rose 2008
Cana's Feast, Bricco Red, 2006
Hogue, Genesis Merlot, 2008
Owen Roe, Sharecropper's Cabernet, 2008
Kim Crawford, Unoaked Chardonnay 2008
J. Scott, Pinot Noir 2008
Edmunds St. John, White, Heart of Gold 2008
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2006
Stevenot, Cabernet, Sierra Foothills, "Stanford" 2000
Portuga, Vinho Rose 2009
Taylor Fladgate, First Estate Reserve Porto
Franciscan, Cabernet, Napa 2006
Chaparral de Vega Sindoa, Garnacha 2008
Quinta da Aveleda, Vinho Verde 2008
St. Francis, Chardonnay Sonoma 2008
E. Guigal, Cotes du Rhone Blanc, 2007
Edmunds St. John, Bone-Jolly, Gamay Noir 2008
St. Innocent, Pinot Noir 2006
Jigsaw, Pinot Noir 2007
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Merlot, Indian Wells 2007
Charles Shaw, Chardonnay 2008
Edmunds St. John, Bone-Jolly, Gamay Rosé 2009
Cameron, Willamette Valley Chardonnay
Il Valore, Sangiovese, Giovane, Puglia 2008
Duck Pond, Chardonnay, Wahluke Slope 2007
Kim Crawford, Marlborough Pinot Noir 2008
Domaine du Pesquier, Cotes du Rhone 2005
Cantina Zaccagnini, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2006
Domaine Matrot, Chardonnay, Bourgogne 2007
David Hill, Oregon Sparkling Wine, Brut
Chandler Reach, Monte Regalo 2006
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2008
Kirkland, Columbia Valley Merlot 2008
D'Aragon, Old Vine Garnacha 2008
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2005
Pavin & Riley, Merlot 2006
David Hill, Estate Pinot Noir, Barrel Select 2006
Castle Rock, Paso Robles Cabernet 2006
Magnificent, Cabernet, Steak House 2008
Conundrum 2008
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1998
Saint Cosme, Cotes-du-Rhone 2007
La Granja, Tempranillo 360, 2008
Santa Rita, Mendalla Real Cabernet 2006
Columbia Crest, Grand Estates Merlot 2006
Andezon, Cotes-du-Rhone 2007
Collegiata, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Troon, Druid's Fluid 2008
La Granja, Tempranillo 2008
Monte Antico, Toscana 2006
Vieux Papes, Blanc de Blancs

The Occasional Book

Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt

Road Work

Miles run year to date: 54
At this date last year: 50
Total run in 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269