I just looked at these photos and they really hoover. Whoever scanned these images and processed them for the web did a terrible job. Some are way to contrasty, others have blown out highlights and blocked shadows, some are filled with noise. This is not what I'd expect from a real print based on having seen his work, and knowing what kind of results can be had from the medium format that he's using, and from his probable choice of emulsions (He used Tri-X and T-Max for his 35mm work and there's no reason to think he'd change).
I have seen this type of crap translation for web use before. I imagine some half-brained web lackey deciding on his or her own interpretation of the image, or believing it can somehow be improved if there were just a little more/less contrast, or some adjustment in tonality. More than likely this is another example of "good enough" for the intended purpose - or just total ignorance about what constitutes a good photograph Feh! I am reminded of an example of the ignorance of people unfamiliar with photography when I think of a 1930's movie (Knute Rockne Story, perhaps?) that was colorized by one of ted Turner's mavens some years ago. In the movie there's a scene in which some information is shown on a blackboard. The blackboard was green, colorized by someone who was obviously too young to remember that, prior to green blackboards, the boards were actually black. I have also seen Clark Gable with both blue eyes and with brown eyes ... Shel > [Original Message] > From: Alin Flaider > Hopefully I'll be able to experience the difference at some point in > the future. Right now it seems to me the images have enough drama > not to be further emphasized with these high contrasts. Maybe it's > due to the web translation but I think the amount of pure black and > white make the sceneries too graphical. On the other side I'm > already jealous on his printers: if I attempt - digitally - the same > degree of contrast out of my best negatives I inevitably end up with > objectionable noise. > > Servus, Alin > > Bob wrote: > But when you've seen his photos in the flesh, you can bring your memory of > that to the web shots, and easily imagine what the quality would be like. > I'm very excited about his Genesis photographs, and particularly looking > forward to seeing prints. It seems to me that they are going to be > outstanding in terms of black & white technical quality.
