Avedon's American West
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- čas přidán 5. 11. 2022
- Richard Avedon’s “In the American West” is a seminal body of work that is instantly recognizable for its aesthetic. In this video I will look at what equipment he used for the four year project and show how easy it is to set up the lighting to get equal results at home.
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In 1980 I was a Press Room intern at the Colorado State Fair, where I was asked by the faculty advisor who ran the room if I'd be interested in being the on-site assistant for this photographer named Richard Avedon who was doing a project then called "Faces of the West." I said sure, and I was given a photocopy of a TIME Magazine profile on him, although I already knew his work from James Taylor's "Walking Man" album cover.
... aaaaand that's the last I ever heard of it -- he never showed up at the State Fair. But it's really interesting to see the setup I would have been helping with, since I loved the finished work when it was published and wished I could have been inside that process.
And that, kids, is my Richard Avedon story.
Richard Avedon in Pueblo, Colorado.
Your poses are spot-on, since "annoyed" is the default look of his subjects. He would famously wait up to 40 minutes for the subject, no matter how famous, to get antsy, fidgety and completely, finally, relaxed and un-self-conscious and THEN fire the shutter. Then he knew he had the real person. So the calculation of how much space between camera and subject can't be too overthought and it was just one critical part of a very fixed formula he created and adhered to. Nice demo -- you nailed it.
quote of the day: I am affordable and always show up on time! Priceless!!!
Very interesting.
Yes, I was inspired by his book, too.
I tried a variation at my local rodeo grounds a few years ago.
Tacked up white paper on the side of a shack, and went at it with 35mm film and 120mm film.
Cowboys, cowgirls, babies, families, cowkids, horses, dogs.
Amazing how beautiful all those dusty people look. I know most of them, so getting their real personalities, just happened.
Printed at 12 X 19, and had a nice exhibit at our county library.
Fantastic video! I really love these technical breakdowns of famous photographers! Looking forward to the next one already!
Me too
Great video, thanks for sharing and for all those very interesting details. I didn't study the arts so I'm learning backwards. I shoot 4x5 so I appreciate the camera info and as a fellow CZcamsr I know how long these videos take to make. I'll re-share this in my next newsletter for you as my video of the month.
Terrific presentation. Absolutely !! RS. Canada
Thank you for this terrific video. I wish there were more like it exploring the techniques of other photographers I admire.
A very useful exercise. Thanks. The results are quite convincing. Laura Wilson's book on the making of "In the American West" has several photos of the way he and his assistants worked.
I have that book. It’s a fantastic resource
Something I was already interested in. Must give this a try on 4x5 with my 180
Thank you for providing this wonderful instruction!
Interesting video, thanks for uploading.
Thanks! I appreciated the hard work you put in.
A great video! I love your your self portraits.
Brilliant video! Bravo
Thanks for sharing this!!!
Great video! Love Avedon shots, especially his American West images.
Very informative video!
I stumbled upon Laura Wilson's Avedon at Work book and subsequently bought Avedon's book. Fascinating work and really cool to see this video and learn. Thanks!
Wonderful. Be sure to save those photos. There was a painting artist named James Bama before Avedon that did that sort of thing with oils. He did book cover art and then western art. According to what I just read, he used a Hasselblad to gather reference material. It was nice Avedon used an 8x10", I think I would if I could afford it. Love the look.
Amazing video! Thank you!
Thanks, this was great!
That style of photo makes you look like a badass.
Danke!
"Up to his assistant to keep the film up to the camera"
Wow! Talk about pressure
I have often wondered about his technique some I had guessed correctly others were a surprised. 17K sheets of film and continuous shooting with two assistance. Brilliant. Love that shutter he used.
I am curious why you opted to reduce 1/3 (80)of a stop vs a full stop (50) like Avedon? What did you learn from this? Great job. thanks
hey man, your'e so crazy. Many thanks for this video!
Thanks!
Great video, thanks. I once got to see some of the original 10x8 sheets from this project and I was surprised to see how much masking paste/ink/goo was painted directly on the negs by the printer to get a pure white background.
I read somewhere that the only way his printer could get final approval for a print was to show Avedon while he didn’t have a grease pencil on him (Avedon). Most of the prints have 40-50 dodge/burn instructions.
Thanks for the video. Have you come across the book “Avedon at Work in the American West” by Laura Wilson? It was my first introduction to his work and I made a few of my favorite images using that set-up.
Yes, I’ve had a copy for years
I would love to hear how you made a lens shade for your 360 mm lens.
Craft foam and gaffers tape
This is creepy because I was actually researching Avedons equipment earlier today
I know. I watching over your shoulder
@@TheNakedPhotographer 😂 oh Mr Naked Photographer! You're so charming
Great video.. I do have a question though. Avedon used Tri-X rated at 200, essentially 1 stop over exposure and processed normally. This would cause the highlights to block up. I have never used Foma, do you get the same effect rating it at 80 as Avedon got with Tri-X at 200?
We don't know if his shutter was adjusted correctly, or how he metered his subjects to know how his negatives were really exposed. D-76 does block up highlights, which may have helped with his white backgrounds.
@@TheNakedPhotographer I always wondered if the printer pre-flashed the paper at all??
Hi Greg
How do you know exactly how Avedon shot ? Did you work for him or was it just research? Thanks for the info!
Research and talking to people at photographic academic conferences that worked with him.
Wait how is there no motion blur from shooting at half a second ?? Is it just because you stood still and used tripod or is it something to do with large format
Hold still and hope!
Hi Gregory, I know this question is not related. I was hoping to ask a question if I may, please. I wanted to purchase some Kodak flexicolor c41 chemical and planning to use one shot method. This is just for my personal use so won't be using a huge amount. I was hoping to ask, how you store them? Here is Australia, I can get the 20L developer or 5L LORR version. If using one shot method, I know 20L standard version is more economical, but will that be too hard to store? In either case, do you recommend to mix all chemical at once or only mix 1L or 2 stock solution? Thanks.
I’ve done both ways. My last batch was the 5 liter LORR kit and I mixed all of it. It’s in 5 separate 1 liter glass bottles.
@@TheNakedPhotographer Thank you. I was also wondering how long they last? From what I've read online, it seems that the developer would last couple of months or even a year if stored properly. Did you have similar experience? And I remember in one of your videos, you mentioned that the bleach last a long time just by aerating? What about fixer? Thanks a lot.
Really enjoyed this. I also +1 for more like it
free model? what? you're hired!! lol jk
Thanks!
And thank you!