W. Eugene Smith - any idea what cameras he used?

.ken said:
This one is classic 😀


Victoriafotografa.jpg
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Photography with the third eye. I don't think she is even looking through the viewfinder. The sad consequence of 'Leica as fashion accessory' status.
 
JSU said:
... One thing that can be said of Smith is that he often used a short, straight screw in handle in the base of his cameras.
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I've seen one of those handles in my 1970's era Kodak photo-book (click). I think those handles are uncommon these days. I wonder if they are very helpful?
 
IIRC Leicas in the middle years which he had to sell.

The last of his work, Minamata story , were done with Minoltas SRT which he bought to do the story.

That was the story of the mercury contaminated fish fed to the Japanese.
It distroyed their health, mostly young people, and the Japanese fishermen nearly beat him to death for it. He never worked PJ again due to the lasting effects.

http://blogcritics.org/culture/article/minamata-50-years-later/
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ronald M said:
That was the story of the mercury contaminated fish fed to the Japanese.
It distroyed their health, mostly young people, and the Japanese fishermen nearly beat him to death for it. He never worked PJ again due to the lasting effects.
Click to expand...

It wasn't local fishermen, it was thugs employed by the chemical company that was dumping mercury into the bay who beat the crap out of Smith while he was photographing a demo by the locals at the offices of the chemical company.
 
I have Smith's book about the Pittsburgh project, it's really great.

In the book are some of his letters, he says he had over 2000 negatives for that project at the time.

I wonder if there is a way to view his thousands of photos ?
 
This thread is so old, I don't know if anyone's reading it anymore. I found it because Gene Smith is on my mind having just seen the fantastic "Jazz Loft Project" exhibition in New York.

I believe it is possible to look at W. Eugene Smith's entire archive at the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, AZ, if you contact them in advance and make an appointment.
 
CameraQuest said:
What do you care to share about Gene Smith?

Stephen
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Gene is "legendary." Some of the legend is a bit exaggerated and some of the best things about him go untold.

But, he was an extremely kind, gracious and understanding friend to a kid who thought his own pictures were more important, at least to him, than Smith's.

When Gene left for Japan, negatives, prints, tapes, paperwork got deposited at my place while another friend held prints that could be sold to raise money. Some folks are surprised that I never opened the boxes and looked at the prints while he was gone, but that wasn't the deal. The last time I saw Gene was at a send off party that John Morris had for Gene before he left for the University of Arizona. Reaching for a can of catfood on a high shelf at a grocery store, Gene fell, injured his head and died.

What I remember is a very kind man who was a little bit crazy. And if the rest of the world was a little bit crazy in the way that Gene was, it would be a better world.

There is one man who has done more to accurately tell about Gene's life than anyone. That is Sam Stephenson. His books, "Dream Street - W. Eugene Smith's Pittsburgh Project" and "The Jazz Loft Project" (in addition to the exhibits associated with these publications) are the result of a still continuing research project Sam mounted at Duke. I am constantly amazed at the depth, accuracy and years of hard work.

The Minimata book, the Aperture monograph, and the Abrams' "W. Eugene Smith Photographs 1934-1975 are other good sources of Gene's work. Jim Hughes was one of the first to publish any of the Minimata pictures. I don't remember if it was in Popular Photography or Camera 35. He later wrote a biography of Gene, "W. Eugene Smith, the Life and Work of an American Photographer." I declined to be interviewed for it even though I was an admirer of what Jim did as an editor within the photo press. But it is, without question, the most extensive biographical source on Gene.

What do I think of Gene? My son is named William Eugene Pierce. When I called Gene from the hospital and told him, it was the first and only time I heard Gene at a loss for words.
 
Bill, Thanks for insight into Eugene Smith. I have two of his books, Let Truth Be The Prejudice & Master of the Photographic Essay. I was made aware of his work by an American photographer, John Benton-Harris, who was giving photography classes in London at the time I was living there. Unfortunately we rarely see this kind of work now days, people are more interested in paparazzi shots of so called celebrities. Lift not the painted veil, that those that live, call life.
 
My understanding is that he used a 4x5 for the Dream Street series, possibly a Speed Graphic.
 
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