hans_beckert Posted December 15, 2003 Share Posted December 15, 2003 Hier is a very nice shot showing the kind of lighting to which I have referred. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymond bradlau Posted December 15, 2003 Share Posted December 15, 2003 Mr Beckert "Do you consider the possibility that things in the past were not necessarily done poorly, and that perhaps one can learn from other times than one's own?" Of course I do, but I am also more than willing to learn from things in the present just because its new or different does not make it bad, which is where we differ on this subject Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hans_beckert Posted December 15, 2003 Share Posted December 15, 2003 Raymond: Do you see the virtue in the Dietrich photo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leanne_newton Posted December 16, 2003 Share Posted December 16, 2003 Hans, thank you for posting these links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twmeyer Posted December 16, 2003 Share Posted December 16, 2003 yes yes yes, very virtuous, and I doubt any would argue with you on the point that Hurrell was a freakin genius. Granted. It's your insistence that everyone since him is incompetent that ruins your credibilty and establishes your aesthetic as narrow and your thinking inflexible. <p>It's not even a conversation, anymore Hans, it's just you telling us how right you are. "Diatribe" is a word that comes to mind (and I should know, I've left plenty on this forum).<p> Thanks for the sermon, Hans. <p>Next!... t Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay_de_fehr Posted December 16, 2003 Share Posted December 16, 2003 Hans, I've seen the work you cite and more, it's not a matter of familiarity that separates our positions. No one is arguing against the work you've linked. Any serious student of portraiture has to come to terms with Hurrell and his ilk at some point. The mystery is how you've been able to avoid all of the brilliant work that has followed.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hans_beckert Posted December 16, 2003 Share Posted December 16, 2003 Jay: You knew I was going to like that! Who did that? It is very good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hans_beckert Posted December 16, 2003 Share Posted December 16, 2003 Tom: I do not wish to beat a dead horse, as you say in English. The fact of the matter is that there are peaks of accomplishment in any art, not always continuous forward development or improvement. Some arts improve, some deteriorate. It is simply this author's opinion that the best black and white work in portraiture and film was done in the period 1930-1950, when the European influence was at its strongest and before color came to the fore. People grow old and die, and they take to their graves not only their knowledge but also their authority. New people take over who have different ways of doing things. This includes technical people, artists, and executives. Following the War, as is well known, Hollywood was purged of much of its talent in the sogenannt 'black-listing' days. One sees quite a different film on the screen in 1957 than 1944 or 1932, in part because the people who crafted those earlier films were dead, retired, or forced out of the business. The glamour portraits, such a feature of the period 1925-1950 were no longer considered even worth doing by 1960. By the early 1970's, many major studios were nearly bankrupt. All things have cycles, and the 'golden age' of the kind of photography and cinematography we are discussing is long gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay_de_fehr Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 Hans, the Christy Turlington photo is by your countryman Peter Lindbergh. He is, in my opinion, among the finest portrait photographers working today, even though he is considered first and foremost a fashion photographer. The photo posted with this message is also by Peter Lindbergh, and features the same model (Natalia Vadianova) that started this thread. As you can see, in this portrait Mr. Lindbergh chose a softer lighting, not out of ignorance or incompetence, but as a creative choice. Which you prefer has no bearing on the artistic merit of either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay_de_fehr Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 That image didn't display. I'll try again.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hans_beckert Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 Sorry, does not look good to my eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hans_beckert Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 Look at: Hollywood Portraits by Roger Hicks, Christopher Nisperos, Kobal Collection http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0817440208/qid=1071692752/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-4817747-5683023?v=glance&s=books Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay_de_fehr Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 Yes Hans, I've seen those. I think we can agree that we're both aware of the differences in styles and have varying degrees of appreciation for them. Thank you for your thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hans_beckert Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 What is nice about the book is that it shows 'how to' for a nice variety of classic portraits, including some quite unusual ones. I noticed one (a portrait of a man) with just a sliver of light on the face, in profile. Very unusual approach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek_stanton2 Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 I've just come upon this 'old' thread, but i'm surprised at the number of people who have engaged this Hans person, so often, and for so long. Have none of you seen the 'portfolio' of his images? Why would you indulge this person with such a debate? Take a look at the photographs he seems to be so proud of and then decide whether or not his comments have any validity. Tom Meyer's last post is bang-on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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