Anyone see the Henry Wessel profile?

[fraley]

There was a profile of Henry Wessel on PBS lately. He was portrayed as old school, using an early Leica and an equally vintage Canon lens. I tuned in late and didn't get to see the whole show, but some of it's here. I really enjoyed seeing his negative storage system, darkroom, and description of his workflow. His description of how everything comes together when you take a picture was very nice and something many of us feel. He then waits several years to look at the negatives, so that the subjective feeling of taking the picture no longer overrides his judgement of which ones work. I liked hearing his approach to photography. Anyone else see this?

http://www.kqed.org/arts/people/spark/profile.jsp?id=17900

 

[einolu]

awesome, i love him!

 

[RayPA]

Missed it! But I always like Wessel's work. I like what he has to say at the link, and sorry I missed the SOMA showing.

thanks!

 

[nikola]

He has similar process as Winograd, but much cleaner and systematic. 🙂

 

[einolu]

hey ray, your older photos of california reminded me of wessels work a lot, any place i could see those?

 

[RayPA]

thanks einars, I don't have them up anywhere right now. It's something I've been contemplating, though. I've been casually re-scanning and reworking and reorg-ing them.


🙂

 

[gns]

Fraley,

Thanks for the heads-up. Always been a fan of his work.
Unfortunately, I can't seem to view the video.

Gary

 

[aizan]

video's not quite working, but, yeah, henry wessel rocks.

 

[jan normandale]

What I like about this place. I've never heard about Wessel and know I know a bit about him. This is one of those times. Too bad the video doesnt work. Thanks Ray

 

[RayPA]

What I like about this place. I've never heard about Wessel and know I know a bit about him. This is one of those times. Too bad the video doesnt work. Thanks Ray

You're welcome, Jan, but it's Michael's (fraley) thread. 😀

 

[troym]

I didn't know much about Wessel's work until I saw the SF MOMA show when I visited the Bay area earlier this year. Wow. I can't say I loved every single photo in the show, but I felt compelled to look--I mean, really *look*--at all of them.

In addition to his keen eye for detail and ability to make the ordinary seem remarkable, Wessel's photos have a brightness and clarity that's hard to describe. In the KQED video he talks about his love of the light in California, and perhaps that's what you see reflected in his prints.

 

[tedwhite]

You know, Jan, I never heard of him, either, and I'm a Californian. So I thank you, Fraley, for the pleasant learning and viewing experience. (For some reason I was able to watch the video, although the Big Brother in my computer usually prevents me from doing so - perhaps BB likes Wessel?)

Ted

 

[gns]

Ok, finally got the video up. Very nice. Often these things are kind of a let-down, but this was pretty well done.

I was lucky enough to meet Wessel a few times way back in the seventies/eighties, and have always enjoyed his work. It is good to see him getting so much (well deserved) attention lately.

Thanks again Fraley,
Gary

 

[Simon Larbalestier]

Thanks for the HU - very interesting to hear the process of making his images.

 

[lushd]

Thanks for this - I hadn't come across him before and now I am a fan.

 

[Steve Litt]

Thanks for the link-Video works fine for me in realplayer.
Regards
Steve

 

[jan normandale]

After lookiing at Wessel's "California houses" ..... here's a link to a set I did in January 2007. I think house portraits from anywhere are always interesting.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jann/sets/72157594490937644/

 

[tedwhite]

Jan: I've seen your set before and it is very well done. My fav remains the West Miami White House and Car. I think I'll do a series on Houses here in Bisbee, using the Bessa R with the Skopar 35/2.5 using color film and then having a CD made so I won't have to fiddle with getting them into the computer.

Ted

 

[flashfirenze]

Saw the profile (I think you need real player), just great!

Of course his work is fabulous, but I was so impressed by his child-like enthusiasm and unpretentious manner! So simple!

 

[blw]

I saw this from the same link put up by Stephanie Brim, but I have to chime in on this thread (since I'm apparently not alone here) that I didn't know him until this doc got out.

I wish I knew the answer for everyone else regarding seeing this, because I have the same problem w/ youtube. Ever since I updated my software, links to yt, break, etc don't work. There doesn't even seem to be any link to help make it viewable. SUCKS.

Anyway, this video DID work & I am much happier for it. I can only aspire to this man's workflow & organizational skill. One day....