There is no problem about any of those guys using LF, there is every problem with the inuendo that only LF gives that je ne sais quoi, that "golden shot" or however it was originally described. Avedon, in fact, is reputed to have used his Rollei TLR extensively and Parks most certainly used a Hass 500C with the original chrome lenses and refused a freebie from Hass because he didn´t want the sharper versions that came along post-chrome. (Nobody offered me that deal; I´d have swapped at once.) He also was very handy with a Nikon F. If Parks wasn´t in your face, as you put it, he was nowhere. Did you ever see any of his Jerry Hall pics? His Pirelli Calendar? However, if by in your face you mean as in grunge, no, nobody did that in that era: it was about looking good, not worn out or otherwise distorted. Sally Mann? Fashion?
I refer this bit not to you particularly, but to those posters who seem to be of the opinion that fashion consists of putting all the bits together, lighting as if for a Playmate and then going click. No, it does not; if I have to spell it out, it consists of building up an atmosphere, of taking the idea - whatever it might be - to the next place and right up to where there is no place left to go. You then start on another idea. And that´s why you pay for top models and why they tend to work within a small group. It´s about money and mutual respect and the ability to make each other´s work look good. Were it not so, all you´d need is a window dummy and an 8x10. But then, maybe that´s where some of us came in.
Ciao - Rob C
Rob right on all accounts but there is always more than one way to skin a cat. Any kind of photography will be affected by the equipment you use, wether it's a mechanical thing or a mind set. I see no reason why the op could not shoot a job digital then shoot some LF and get a different look and feel to the pictures, it need not be a static posed shot or it could be. The fact that he shoots with any type of camera will not guarantee a good end result.
Sally Mann was used as an example of what can be done with cumbersome equipment like a 10x8, no it's not fashion but it could of been if that had been her intension. LF is not the obvious choice to shoot fashion with in this day and age, but isn't that some of what fashion photography is about? not always going with the herd. That's why some of the sixties guys picked up 35mm in the first place for a different approach. Karsh portraits are of a different era and style, if he had been using a Leica it would of been different, not better but different. Some of the early photographers with their LF and slow glass plates managed to get animation and atmosphere into their images that astounds me, there are plenty that don't get that with todays turbo charged computer driven devices. The fact you have to shoot with film means it's going to be different, no instant feed back, I'm sure you know all about film, but it's easy to forget how much you had to hold films hand to walk it through a job, from loading, filtering, shooting, processing, assessing, scanning/printing. That alone is a different track of thought. Shooting 5x4 will not guarantee any worthwhile images for the OP, he might get something else useful from it, like you said taking an idea and running with it until you can't go any further.
Cheers,
Kevin.
