Would Ansel Adams Have Gone Digital?

Roland Piquepaille writes "After viewing photographs by Christopher Burkett, which are not digitally manipulated, Peter Lewis wondered what place have digital cameras and image manipulations in the art of photography. And a question hit his mind. If Ansel Adams, one of the most famous photographers of the 20th century, was still alive, would have he gone digital? Lewis talked at great length with Richard LoPinto, vice president for SLR camera systems at Nikon Inc. to find an answer. And guess what? LoPinto thinks Ansel Adams would have loved digital cameras. The article also discusses digital camera resolution and the future for film camera sales. This overview contains more details and a small photograph by Christopher Burkett."

Comments

Re:If he did...

[rolocroz]

That's only 7.2MP.

Re:Prints

[Zeinfeld]

Like Charlie Chaplan refused to use films with sound, and didn't think it was an appropriate art form.)

Not true. Chaplin made hundreds of films with sound - he started United Artists. Chaplin believed that his tramp character could not make the transition, that the first movie the tramp spoke in would be his last.

Chaplin was completely right as it turned out, the tramp spoke in the Great Dictator to denounce Hitler. Chaplin knew at the time it would be the end of the tramp as a movie icon but beleived that denouncing Hitler was more important.

If people take a look at Ansel Adam's books or his longstanding association with Land (Polaroid) it is obvious he would be looking at ways to exploit digital cameras if he was alive today.

As for objections to Adam's environmentalism. In his day the issues were very different. Saving the wilderness was considered the main issue of the day. Concern over fuel efficiency was much less important than saving Yosemite from being turned into a reservoir. Adams made his first visits with a mule to carry the cameras.