Ansel Adam’s son Michael visited the Eastman House and it was a real treat. He told the stories of being on photo trips with Ansel and how images like Moonrise (above).
Now the ‘like father, like son’ comment is funny, as Michael is a doctor who rarely takes photographs. BUT he really had Ansel’s, kind spirit and humor.
The top question Michael gets asked? “What would Ansel think about digital photography ?” Michael suggests that Ansel would have loved digital photography and near to his death, Ansel was being give Apple computers by Steve Jobs, which he loved.
It makes sense that AA would have embraced digital since many of his final prints are worlds away from the look of the raw negative. Ansel said that ‘the negative is the score and the print is the performance’. That’s well shown by many of AA’s printing notes on display with the show… Do you wonder how he printed the Moonrise photo? The show even has his hand-written notes on what areas to dodge and burn as well as examples of how the straight print would have looked.
Congratulations to GEH for mounting this great exhibition (all of which comes from GEH’s own archive!) and thanks to Dr. Adams and his wife for the wonderful stories and visit. Show runs through September 3rd 2007… so go soon. Info HERE
I’ll get more in detail on this someday, but I’ve just switched from my Nikon cameras to Canon after 20 years.
Funny thing is back then I was shooting Canon and switched to Nikon when autofocus first started!
And waay before that… can anyone say ‘Yashika?! in High School.
So why did I switch and what do I think so far, everyone asks:
• I shoot lots of theatre, and so Canon is undisputedly better at high ISO (I just did a Geva shoot and didn’t hesitate to use 1600)
• I’ve had some repair issues with Nikon’s Pro Service and my most recent two cameras had manufacture flaws that bugged me (dead pixels on the CCD)
• I was ready to replace my long lens with a zoom version, since I’d need that more with my current PR shooting and I was drooling over the Image Stabilization that I could get (Nikon makes that too… but when I compared both, I liked the build of the Canon better)
• The lens that kept being repaired poorly broke one last time! So I need to replace my other key lens, and after paying $1500 for it and then another $900+ in repairs, I was ready to switch
• The Canon doesn’t seem to have the focusing problems that the Nikon’s I’ve owned do (I’ve had D1, D1X and D200s)…It’s a relief to just have a shot be in focus most of the time
The folks at Rowe Photo here in Rochester NY let me try everything out and my associate Ron loaned me his top-of-the-line Canon for a few shoots (Big Thanks Ron!!)… and the key was, the files were just plain better based on what I shoot and how I shoot (Both companies are fine, and your mileage may vary, but I really was impressed with the Canon).
Sorry this is so text heavy, but since folks were asking, that’s a start to the answer.
I bought a Canon 5D and it comes in a nice kit now. Total outlay around $8000… relief when photos are sharp and low grain at high ISO… Priceless 
Next, I’ll bust on the Canon a bit.
cheers,
Ken
Woo hoo… almost done renovating at the house and office. Each year when Lisa and the kids go to PA to volunteer at the big York County Historical Society booksale, I get tons done here and even sneak in a few shoots.
The project for this year was the floors in the office and other downstairs rooms, as well as painting the family room, etc, etc… and I have a fun upgrade for Lisa’s office work, but that’s a big secret… stay tuned!
