Henry Wessel interview.

Stephanie,

Thanks for posting that. I got quite a lot from that & I'd never heard of the man before.
 
Stephanie,

Stephanie,

Living here in the San Francisco Bay Area I was fortunate to see his exhibit at the MOMA and thoroughly enjoyed his photography. I learned a lot but it is better to hear him talk about his photography. The Cantor Museum at Stanford also has wonderful photography exhibits and is a great place to see the fine examples of photographers. Recently we saw an exhibit by Richard Avedon that was simply marvelous.This is the single most inspiring work since I saw an example of Ansel Adams' early beginnings before he went to landscapes, there were actual portraits he took and students milling around the campus where he taught. Great stuff !
 
I'd love to meet him and discuss photography with him. I can relate to everything he says about photography because it's exactly how I feel about it. It's *really* nice to find out that a famous photographer actually shares my ideas and that my philosophy isn't just a crock of horse manure. ;)
 
Great stuff Steph. As one who lives his part of the USA his images have particular impact. We sense daily (perhaps unconsciously) much of what his photos make explicit.
 
That was great, he was able to articulate his philosophy in plain English, and he had the photos to back up his words.
 
Stephanie,

You can see some of his photographs online here...
http://www.cowlesgallery.com/Wessel.html

Work in print was not that easy to come by for many years. Just a few small, scarce catalogs. But there are 2 recent publications of his work from Stiedl now which are very nice.

Note: There was a similar thread to this a week or so ago. see below.

Cheers,
Gary
 
One of his reported comments has been one camera, one lens. This is really not true but probably close to being true. Stated it is: 28mm lens (Canon) on a Leica M? I did find that in 1980 Leica did have a viewfinder that had 28mm view lines (I've seen video of him using his camera and there is no extra finder). Does anyone know about this camera?
 
charjohncarter said:
One of his reported comments has been one camera, one lens. This is really not true but probably close to being true. Stated it is: 28mm lens (Canon) on a Leica M? I did find that in 1980 Leica did have a viewfinder that had 28mm view lines (I've seen video of him using his camera and there is no extra finder). Does anyone know about this camera?
Click to expand...

Ages ago I saw a video/interview of his where he used a chrome M with what seemed like the Canon 28/2.8. From memory, he didn't use an external v/f. The camera looked puzzlingly like an M3 to me (which didn't make sense - no 28 or 35mm framelines) but in the end I thought he used an M4. I think he's really close to Winogrand's aesthetic, so similarity of gear is plausible to assume.

EDIT: Well, I found the video. Freeze at approx. 3:30 for a close look at the camera. N.B. All-metal advance lever + no lens release guard + traditional ISO dial + button rewind + no self-timer. Very possibly an M2 then (?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7SXO91sR8g

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telenous, thanks for that video, it is the one that I saw but couldn't find. And I don't know much about Leica cameras and lenses (or most cameras and lenses)(except the ones I own). I guess he had a screwmount 28mm and adapter or is there a Canon 28mm in M mount. I remember him saying the lens was a Canon.

johnwolf, thanks for that video. I'll watch today.
 
Wessel's work fascinates me. I really can't explain why. Normally I would be turned off by his print quality, yet the pictures draw me in and hold my attention.
 
Charjohncarter, thanks for bringing this one back. I'd completely forgotten about it until I saw the video again.

To your points about his lens, it is an LTM Canon 28 2.8. I know this because I have a similar setup now as well. I have the Canon 28 2.8 with an M adaptor on my M4-2. Instead of an external viewfinder, I consider the full viewfinder window to approximate the 28mm field of view.
 
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