I have been going to what had been known as the George Eastman House Museum of Photography since 1960, when I first came to RIT. The name of the facility has been changed to the George Eastman Museum. I went there today to see a stunning Alvin Langdon Coburn retrospective. He lived from 1882 to 1966. The photographs knocked my socks off. I thought I knew about his work but I didn't have a clue as to the breadth of his photographs. He did dramatic cityscapes, many of them of New York City from above, and landscapes of the grand Canyon, and Yosemite. And then if that was not enough, he did dramatic portraits of so many famous people. Many of his prints were platinum prints, and the they were overcoated with a second layer of a bichromate emulsion. This resulted in deep, dark images that are a rich reddish brown color. So, since I am easily influenced, I decided to photograph Eastman House from a different angle and try to duplicate the look of Coburn's prints. This gives you a sense of what his pictures look like.
2 comments:
Nice "print". You also shot the building at the perfect time of day that matches your printing effect. Exhibit sounds amazing.-- Stan
Hi Stan: Thanks! I was amazed at the breadth of Alvin Langdon Coburn's work. Apparently, when shooting the New York City scenes, he scouted them during the day, and then went back at dusk to shoot. Of course, New York had smoke everywhere from coal stoves and furnaces, and the effect was really atmospheric. A stunning exhibition!
Post a Comment