Lee Friedlander with his Hassy Superwide, by Richard Avedon. (No special reason, just ran across this.)
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Mike
Featured Comment by John Mitchell: "Another Random Excellence: Avedon by Friedlander, made on the same occasion. See Jeffrey Fraenkel's article "One Day in May," Aperture magazine No. 188, Fall 2007."
two of the best!
Posted by: phil fogle | Monday, 21 July 2008 at 10:42 AM
That Aperture feature that John noted is really a striking piece that I remember well. Avedon and Friedlander got together at Friedlander's rural home and each shot the other at work. Friedlander took that shot of Avedon with all of his little minions while standing in the same position in which Avedon shot that typical Avedon-style portrait of Friedlander.
If you were not informed you would not have guessed that they were shooting simultaneously, would you?
Say, I wonder of Lee or Richard "love" those cameras?
Posted by: Ken Tanaka | Monday, 21 July 2008 at 12:06 PM
I think I like this one better!
http://www.pdngallery.com/20years/20mostinfluential/frank.html
Robert Frank as seen by Avedon.
Why is it that so many great photographers look like freaks or disturbed people of one type or another?
Posted by: JG | Monday, 21 July 2008 at 02:12 PM
I saw this photo when it appeared in Aperture. I thought that it was striking, but I preferred the Friedlander photo of Avedon! Apparently Avedon also wanted to photograph Helen Levitt, but she declined. Friedlander agreed on the condition that he be allowed to photograph Avedon as well.
Posted by: Andrew Sowerby | Monday, 21 July 2008 at 06:03 PM
Avedon's picture of Friedlander is grand but strange. What sort of camera did Avedon use, what format film? The picture has what appears to be an intact "verification border" all the way around it but the aspect ratio is surely not 10x8. Could we be seeing another one of those fake film borders added in PhotoShop? Tell me it ain't so.
Posted by: Maris Rusis | Tuesday, 22 July 2008 at 07:08 PM
"What sort of camera did Avedon use, what format film?"
Maris,
It's 8x10.
Mike J.
Posted by: Mike J. | Tuesday, 22 July 2008 at 09:44 PM
Yup, it's a true 8x10 frame. No, those are real film borders. I think Avedon would have cut his throat and watched it bleed before he would ever let some assistant tinker with his work on a computer.
BTW, your actually looking at the camera that Avedon used to capture the Friedlander portrait.
Posted by: Ken Tanaka | Tuesday, 22 July 2008 at 11:04 PM
how sad that in this day and age we have to explain that Avedon didn't use photoshop!
One of the true masters.
Posted by: ian | Wednesday, 23 July 2008 at 09:39 AM