Jocko
Off With The Pixies
....Was arguably Paul Wolff. A big claim, but one I think is justified - and which, more importantly, reminds us of a neglected photographer whose work remains both relevant and inspirational.
Wolff(1887-1951) won one of the very earliest Leicas in a competion and became perhaps the most enthusiastic public advocate of 35mm photography. His classic My First 10 Years with the Leica (1934) created a sensation and his many subsequent, massively illustrated, books dealt with 35mm colour photography and a huge range of specific themes.
Wolff was a pioneer, technically and stylistically, but not one intent on carving out some lonely creative niche. The message in his work is that the mundane is astonishingly beautiful and that everyone could learn to create exquisite images with the new 35mm technology. Capable of dazzling abstraction, he was also the most intimate and humane of photographers. Much of his work remains astonishingly modern, marked by that indefinable quality which characterises classic rangefinder pictures.
Someone once said that philosophy consists of footnotes to Plato. In a sense RF photography consists of reflections of Wolff: His were the images that convinced photographers that a new creative era had begun. They have been echoed unconsciously in our pictures ever since.
One more issue has to be addressed: Wolff was a German photographer in a tragic era. He used his pictures to quietly project his personal disgust for National Socialism and after the war worked for the Allied Military Government. He was not a Nazi.
Sadly there do not seem to be many Wolff images on-line, but original copies of his books are remarkably inexpensive and widely available from on-line booksellers such as http://www.zvab.com/SESSz10934356511174840677/gr2/de/index.html
and https://www.abebooks.co.uk/. This biblography is a great help - http://www.imagere.com/paulwolff/paulwolffbibliography.htm
Taking advantage of the 1944 declaration on copyright, here are 6 typical images to hopefully spark interest.... 3 here....
Wolff(1887-1951) won one of the very earliest Leicas in a competion and became perhaps the most enthusiastic public advocate of 35mm photography. His classic My First 10 Years with the Leica (1934) created a sensation and his many subsequent, massively illustrated, books dealt with 35mm colour photography and a huge range of specific themes.
Wolff was a pioneer, technically and stylistically, but not one intent on carving out some lonely creative niche. The message in his work is that the mundane is astonishingly beautiful and that everyone could learn to create exquisite images with the new 35mm technology. Capable of dazzling abstraction, he was also the most intimate and humane of photographers. Much of his work remains astonishingly modern, marked by that indefinable quality which characterises classic rangefinder pictures.
Someone once said that philosophy consists of footnotes to Plato. In a sense RF photography consists of reflections of Wolff: His were the images that convinced photographers that a new creative era had begun. They have been echoed unconsciously in our pictures ever since.
One more issue has to be addressed: Wolff was a German photographer in a tragic era. He used his pictures to quietly project his personal disgust for National Socialism and after the war worked for the Allied Military Government. He was not a Nazi.
Sadly there do not seem to be many Wolff images on-line, but original copies of his books are remarkably inexpensive and widely available from on-line booksellers such as http://www.zvab.com/SESSz10934356511174840677/gr2/de/index.html
and https://www.abebooks.co.uk/. This biblography is a great help - http://www.imagere.com/paulwolff/paulwolffbibliography.htm
Taking advantage of the 1944 declaration on copyright, here are 6 typical images to hopefully spark interest.... 3 here....
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Jocko
Off With The Pixies
ClaremontPhoto
Jon Claremont
Tank you. i had never heard of Paul Wolff before. What photos! Wonderful.
aad
Not so new now.
Excellent! Thank you.
morgan
Well-known
incredible shots. The one in the train station(?) blows my mind.
SolaresLarrave
My M5s need red dots!
I saw the book in a list of photography books somewhere... and I always thought it was some amateur photographer. I'll look it up.
Thanks for the information and the photos, Jocko!
Thanks for the information and the photos, Jocko!
R
rpsawin
Guest
Yeah, the Train Station shot is amazing.
Bob
Bob
photogdave
Shops local
Thanks for the info Ian. I really like the first colour photos. Makes me think of Dark City and the colorized versionn of Metropolis...
amateriat
We're all light!
To quote a certain song: the more I learn, the less I know. Thanks a bunch for this, Jocko!
- Barrett
- Barrett
40oz
...
amateriat said:
ain't that the truth!
Taqi
Established
Fantastic - this forum is great
Avotius
Some guy
I got to have this book....thanks for the heads up
Jocko
Off With The Pixies
Thank you everyone - I'm glad this has proved of interest!
I'd just add that the German editions of Wolffs books are much cheaper thanthe English versions. I've got mine via Abe books, and as most are albums of pictures prefaced by an essay, language is not really an issue
The two major titles to look out for are Meine Erfahrungen mit der Leica. Ein historischer Querschnitt aus fast 10 Jahren Leica-Photographie (1934 - AKA My first 10 years..." and Meine Erfahrungen mit der Leica (1939) which is effectively a sequel. The first has particular interest as it includes very full technical notes regarding camera, lens, film, exposure etc.
All the best, Ian
I'd just add that the German editions of Wolffs books are much cheaper thanthe English versions. I've got mine via Abe books, and as most are albums of pictures prefaced by an essay, language is not really an issue
The two major titles to look out for are Meine Erfahrungen mit der Leica. Ein historischer Querschnitt aus fast 10 Jahren Leica-Photographie (1934 - AKA My first 10 years..." and Meine Erfahrungen mit der Leica (1939) which is effectively a sequel. The first has particular interest as it includes very full technical notes regarding camera, lens, film, exposure etc.
All the best, Ian
O
Oldprof
Guest
Very eloquent post Jocko! Thanks for sharing this information about the significance of Paul Wolff's work.
migtex
Don't eXchange Freedom!
Many thanks!
Glad someone is always working to bring to the ones the respect and value they deserve. Great Job!
Glad someone is always working to bring to the ones the respect and value they deserve. Great Job!
markinlondon
Elmar user
I recently found a copy of My first 10 years... in a secondhand bookshop in Broadstairs, Kent. Sadly it was in very poor condition so I didn't buy it. It's probably still there if anyones prepared to take it.
robin a
Well-known
Hi Ian,nice to wake up and read something good...........Robin
nico
Well-known
Jocko,
thanks for sharing; I never heard about Paul Wolff before and I'm glad when I learn something new.
Ciao
Nico
thanks for sharing; I never heard about Paul Wolff before and I'm glad when I learn something new.
Ciao
Nico
Jocko
Off With The Pixies
It really is my pleasure! It's just that I was intrigued by the endless references to Wolff in early books on 35mm photography, and the fact that modern books barely even mentioned him. Before I finally shut up, here are 6 more pictures.... Wolff's industrial shots caused particular excitement in the 20s, and I'm willing to bet that they influenced Rodchenko... 3 more coming!
Cheers, Ian
Cheers, Ian
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Jocko
Off With The Pixies
....And three more. I find the second and third pictures very interesting. After a sequence of idyllic beach photographs we suddenly find this image - the girls are immediately recognisable as BDM members - the female branch of the Hitler Youth. They resemble the "Dance of Death" in German medieval art, and on the opposite page Wolff printed the next picture - he and his friends quickly leaving the beach. I think that an intelligent viewer in the Germany of 1939 would have seen a very definite message in these images...
Cheers, Ian
Cheers, Ian
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