Los Angeles by Ansel Adams, 1940s

Austerby

Austerby

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Interesting set of photos displayed on the wonderful Retronaut website:

http://www.retronaut.co/2012/06/los-angeles-by-ansel-adams-1940s/

Whilst the photos have a certain period interest, and there's definitely some Chandleresque atmosphere in them, I think they're a pretty ordinary set of photos. I'm not seeing a great photographer at work here. Adams was no HCB when it comes to street photography.
 
Indeed and looks like 35mm camera no? Wasn't he a fan of the Contax 35mm rangefinders? Then again, Ansel Adams probably took 1/100th of the amount of 35mm pictures as HCB did I'd imagine. Never the less, Id' be happy to take shots like that :) I ain't exactly a street photographer though.
 
Those images are all square -- he shot a Hasselblad 500 and I assume that's what he was using here. They're not the crop size of 35mm. He did shoot Contax II and later IIa. Zeiss gave them to him. At least the second one. And it's true that neither format is his true strength. 8 x 10 is his true strength. But I'd also offer the notion that these don't represent the photographer's edit of what to show. He was hired to do many jobs like this and I'm sure he handed in everything that came out. Many of those shots look poorly developed. Which, given who we're talking about, is insane. Others have noticeably diminished contrast from flare. A few are excellent. (The three faces in the darkness of the theater being one of those...). If there are 3 or 4 excellent photos there, which I think there are, it's not a bad percentage.
 
Brigitte -- OMG -- is holding a Leica IIIc or IIIf. I think it's an F but I can't be sure -- if there's a little screw next to the exterior bottom right corner of hte front VF window then it might be a IIIC because I believe that the IIIF didn't have that. I can't tell by the angle here. However, given the year, IIIf is more likely.
 
Not great photos, but the Adams genius is best seen in more deliberate shots where care and attention was placed not only in the composition and exposure, but in the darkroom work. These look like travel snaps that were developed by a lab.

What a wonderful time and mood though...
 
On further close study -- what I won't do for my fellow RFFers -- I can see it's a IIIf. The lens by that date would be either the Summitar collapsible 50mm f/2 or, more likely, the Summicron, same particulars.
 
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