Pasadena Museum of California Art - Brett Weston

There is a terrific exhibit of the work of Brett Weston at the Pasadena Museum of California Art. He is one of my all time favorite photographers who is vastly under appreciated in today's photography world.  

Born in 1911 he was the son of one of the most famous photographers ever, Edward Weston. Edward had 4 sons, Chandler, Brett, Neil, and Cole. While still in his teens Brett started to make a name for himself and his work was shown with his fathers and later in solo shows. There was no father and son rivalry, Edward respected his son and his work and they worked side by side for many years.  When Edward was diagnosed with Parkinson's in the late 40's Brett put aside his work and helped his father with printing his negatives. After the death of his father in 1958 Brett resumed his work.

Brett's work is very graphic in nature and quite beautiful to look at. It is such a shame that there have not been any books printed in the last 20 years showcasing his work. There are 42 prints in the exhibition at the Pasadena Museum of Art. They are contact prints and the detail in the work is incredible.  

Back in 1991 on the occasion of Brett's 80th birthday he gathered dozens of friends over to his home and did the unthinkable. He burned all of his negatives. He was upset that his family had been reprinting Edward's negatives for so many years and did not want the same fate for his work. He felt that only he should print his negatives. So into the fire they went. He continued photographing and when he was done printing each project he burned those negatives also. 

If you live anywhere in the Southern California area please go to the Pasadena Museum of California Art and see the work of Brett Weston. This is a rare opportunity to see some masterful black and white photography. 

The show runs thru September 11. 

Color Management - X-rite ColorChecker Passport

Color management is so easy to control these days it is surprising that everybody is not utilizing monitor calibration and using a color checker.

Xrite ColorChecker Passport

Before digging into exposure and cold practices from my past, notice anything odd about the above photo. A Macbeth ColorChecker? That is an original 9 x 13 color calibration chart. Macbeth is no longer around, they are now part of X-rite. I have been utilizing a managed workflow a lot longer than computers have been around.

Exposure Box from 1981

This is the very first image that I took at the start of my photography program. Yes the date says 1981. All assignments started with an image of the exposure box. This was a box in the far corner of one of the studios that had controlled daylight balanced illumination that had a grey card and a gray scale. This was to make sure that the camera light meter was calibrated and would show if you processed your film correctly. The school that I attended was geared towards turning out working photographers. Consistency in results is a sign of quality work.

This is how we standardized the exposure of Black and White proof sheets. All proof sheets included a Kodak T14 exposure scale. When step 7 was neutral gray the proof sheet was properly exposed and it would show if the film was properly exposed and developed.

Florescent Lighting Test

This image shows the process for the beginning of color management. This project was to show how to filter for florescent lights. There are many different bulbs that emit light at different color temperatures. This is all done automatically with todays digital cameras. It is only a problem these days when you have mixed lighting. Daylight and tungsten in the same scene is very common problem. Yes the slide is faded, but you get the idea.

Kodak Gray Card

Kodak grey cards had multiple purposes. Before matrix and multi-zone metering the use of grey cards was wide spread in professional photography. It was the surest way to get a correct exposure in difficult lighting situations. Another trick was to include a grey card in a photo to assist printing. Many of times I would have a grey card in the corner of a product shot on large format film. The card would be cropped out during printing.

Colormunki Display

I now have all of my screens calibrated with X-rite products. The are easy to use and are reliable. I remember back in the 90's using a control panel on my Mac to visually color balance my monitor. Technology marches on. One of the great features of the Colormunki is that it has an ambient light sensor that monitors lighting conditions and adjust your monitor accordingly. I carry a ColorChecker passport with me on all shoots so that when I get back I can profile my camera for best results. One of the best examples I have ever seen to justify the use of a monitor calibrator was when I was shooting official portraits for soldiers. On the uniforms soldiers wear awards that are various colors. When comparing a calibrated monitor verse an uncalibrated monitor the color of the awards would change. The red awards appeared pink. A calibrated monitor doesn't just remove a color cast, it renders individual colors properly. 

Add a calibrator to your workflow. It is not a calibrate once and never use it again. Monitors change as they age. Rental laptops need adjusting. Make your work look better on the web. The more you learn about exposure and color the better photographer you will become.