Paul Caponigro Landscape Theory

7/24/2019 Paul Caponigro Landscape Theory

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RE ING WOODS RIVER, CONNECTICUT, 1970

Freedom and discovery nourish my work:'

PAUL CAPONIGRO

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A tone in a print has an impact, somewhat in the way the key

of

C in music has a particular quality and character. Each tone

to me is like a sound and together they harmonize as in music.

When a deep black appears next to a specific grey, I m affected

by

the relationship. A print is another ground where I can

experience the emotional impact that a Chopin Etude

or

a

Brahms Symphony could have

on

me.

From an early age, music and nature sustained me. When I

was growing

up

in Revere, Massachusetts, I used to go

directly to the ocean after school to walk and collect stones and

listen to the waves.

Then

one

day

on one

of my

walks, it

suddenly occurred to me to take a camera. At that time, about

1948, I had no awareness

of

the grand landscapes

of

Watkins,

Adams, and Weston. I was content to commune directly with

nature, and to be affected by her rhythms. Nature and music

flowed through me.

The business

of

structure and visual language played no

part in

my

photographic activity until several years later, when

I realized tliat the medium of photography was teaching me

just as nature had been teaching me. Simple, direct contact.

Photography became another landscape in itself, a separate

world to explore through the process

of

transforming nature

into a black and white print. By looking at nature, through the

photographic process, I discovered forms and dimensions in

the landscape I d only vaguely sensed before.

Six years after I began photographing, while working in the

Yuma Desert, the purity

of

the light in the print became my

primary concern. I needed to command a technique to capture

the subtle activities of light. By unraveling Ansel Adams zone

system, I found a way to understand and overcome technical

problems. The Zone system taught me the discipline to get

light to feel like light in a print. I preferred not to think of

tones as separate divisions

of

densities

on

a negative, but to

feel the relationships between them.

My

system simplified all

the numbers and ratios to allow me a more intuitive response .

.People think I control my tones and exposures,

but

that is

only partially true. At one point, I tried to create a zone

system for each

of

several fIlms which would fit a particular

quality of light or scene. But the variables were incessant. I

backed off and decided that, rather than mess with such a

fancy system, I could just

as

easily affect the scale

of

a given

flim by manipulating papers and developers. I learned a lot

about the scale

of Tri-X and

Plus X, which are relatively soft,

and Pan X, which

h s

a long, smooth scale. Later, I used

Ilford FP-4. For a long time, I used Ansco Versapan.

The simpler I work, the less equipment

and

fewer figures I

c rry

around, the easier it is to get good pictures.

That

is, I

don t want to

be

tripping over technique

and

materials. I used

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to carry around 2 dozen holders.

Now

I have the old Graflex

holders with

12

septums, for

12

sheets of film in one holder.

It's only

an

inch

and

a half thick, and with three holders, I

have enough film for a days shooting. When I flew to England

recently, the chap who picked me up asked where my

equipment was. All I had was a tripod, a small box and a

backpack with a few lenses, holders, meters, and miscellanea.

REDDING WOODS RIVER, 1970 was taken from a bridge

with a 5 x 7 camera.

The

elements I had selected to

photograph were already arranged in the landscape, and I

chose

my

lens to record them on

fJlm

as I saw them. Having

worked with a variety of lenses I quickly went to the one I

knew would do the job. I knew a 5 inch lens would give me

distortion. A 6 inch lens would still include too

much

on the

outer edges,

and

allow the trees to recede. A

10

inch lens

would narrow the frame to the center

of

the river, when I

wanted only the trees, water, and reflection. Automatically, I

pulled the 8 inch lens out of

my bag because it brought the

trees forward and framed exactly what you see in the image.

This

photograph was exposed in the last light of the day. In

low light levels, the meter reading must

e

adjusted to

compensate for reciprocity failure. I left my lens open longer

than indicated

by

the light meter.

The photograph of

THE

RUNNING DEER was made

in

Ireland in 1967. It was an accident, or rather, a gift for my

willingness to deal with a low light situation.

I d

heard about

this group of white deer

on

an estate and was intrigued

by

the

idea that they were white and in a herd. I called the owner and

he gave me permission to work on the grounds.

The deer were difficult to approach because they were

scattered and constantly moving. I asked the owner to corral

them at one end

of

a large field and, when I was ready, shoo

/

them in my direction.

I saw the stand of trees in the photograph and decided to set

up

opposite them at the other end of the field. There, I d be

out

of

the way and the deer wouldn't see me. I was so far away

that, to bring the trees back to me, I had to use a long lens.

My meter reading wouldn't allow me a fast enough shutter

speed to stop the deer

in

motion.

When

the owner corraled

enough deer, I said ready, and he waved his hat. Sure

enough, they spread themselves out in the way they appear in

the photo. I was amazed they didn't clump

up

here and there.

When

I processed the negative and saw the blur, I thought,

my God, this ghostly effect is more wonderful than the

sharper focus I d hoped

for.

In the printing, I cropped part of

the trees and the foreground that were unnecessary. If the

picture works better cropped, I do it.

THE

STONEHENGE photographs came about as a result of

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my interest in the art and architecture

of

ancient man. I was

carried away by the mystery and power

of

the ancient stones.

I stopped shooting 4 x 5 when I went to Ireland in 1966.

The extra height and width

of

the 5 x 7 format resolved

certain problems I had when photographing stones. By using

the 6 inch Goertz wide angle Dagor, on a 5 x 7 camera, I

found the image proportions and shapes were relatively true to

the proportions in the landscape and the foreground

background relationship was maintained.

When I'm

out in nature, I respond to emotional stimulus

which determines what and when I photograph. I can get

excited about a cloud moving over a group

of rocks and think,

this could make a beautiful arrangement, but I don't always

trust my thoughts

of

arranging or composing. When I

recognize a potential picture, I don't waste a second thinking

about the position

of

objects. Sometimes I literally guess

where the image will appear on the ground glass and shoot. I

work fast, thinking all the while. Who can guarantee us

anything for all the thinking and feeling? Who is such a total

master that he's going to get precisely what he expects? There

are too many variables in the overall process. If he does get

precisely what he expects, he deserves it.

The

ancient

Egyptian Imhotep said, And no artist is ever master

of

is

craft. I think that's a good attitude to maintain.

For a sharp image, I develop my film in HC 110 diluted

1:31. It's a high accutance developer, which means it registers

fme lines on the flim clearly. Ansel used the old pyro formula,

and he could register an exquisite fmeness

of

detail. But later,

he found H C

110

was less erratic than the pyro and created a

similar effect.

Years

ago, I used D23, and it produced a

beautiful scale in a large format negative. But when the

negative was enlarged greatly, the resolution wasn't fme

enough. Ansel found D23's high sulfite content was eroding

the silver and softening the image sharpness.

HC 110

responds to the zone system expansion-contraction.

But there are

few

flims today that do it. Some years ago, I

could affect a decent range

of

control. I could expand the high

values to 4 and the toe would stay relatively constant. It might

build up a little density at the toe

of

the curve,

but

I could

expand the high values. Today, flim can't be pushed, perhaps

because there's not enough silver in it. If I

go

past plus 1 with

any given film, the whole toe starts to come up along with the

high values. If I

go

further than minus 1 the toe loses density.

Few flims are exhibiting a decent latitude these days.

Printing papers today are like one way streets. They lack the

latitude which enables contrast manipulation with one paper

grade. Ten years ago, I did the majority

of

my work on

Medallist and Ansco grade 2. In the last six years, to get my

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negatives to work as well in print, I ve had to use a few

different grades

of

six separate brands

of

paper. If I want a

certain feeling, I look for a particular paper and mess with

several developers to get that little something extra.

For paper developers, I use Ilford Bromofen when I want a

neutral color. Instead

of

Dektol, I use a lot

of

Ardol, an old

Ansco formula with a lovely warm tone. They ve discontinued

the formula but I ve got a few cases left and will later

m x it

I use any and all printing controls to get a good print.

Primarily, I work intuitively. Previsualization is too binding. I

don t want to hold to a set idea.

When I ve got a negative solved, I usually make twice as

many prints as I need. I want three, I make six. One will get

broken washing, another

will

perhaps be mishandled by my

assistant or myself, still another might be screwed up in the

mounting press or in spotting.

Much

physical handling invites

damage, no matter how careful you are.

Long before East Street announced the desirability, I used 2

hypos. If I know I m going to use the hypo in a certain period

of

time, I

m x

five gallons

of F6

hypo, and

fix

my prints four

minutes in each vat. ears ago I read in a commercial photo

magazine that two vats should be used because, once you ve

had a certain number

of

prints through the first vat, the hypo

picks up compounds from the acetic acid and the developer.

A second fresh hypo removes the compounds that otherwise

build

up

in the hypo solution. I don t know chemistry well

enough to check it out, but it sounds logical and I ve been

working that way for many years.

My prints are toned a specific time, long or short, to keep

the print color subtle or definite.

Many

people selenium tone

for three minutes, but I have found that three minutes can at

times be too long or too short for the specific effects I am

seeking. A long toning can sometimes destroy the soft

atmosphere I might put in a print. I work with several

developers to find a color that

will

be in harmony with the

effect I wish to project through the print. I want all aspects,

print color, scale contrast,

and

even size to work together.

In

some cases, i I can t get the separation I need in low values

of

the print through other means, I tone for two minutes or

longer in selenium. It adds density to the blacks. I compensate

for the contrast from toning, by careful printing and developing.

I strive to have a facile technique because only when I am

free

of

concern over technique and least conscious

of

technical

problems do dreamlike images emerge. Discovery s essential

to my photography. But only when you ve done your

homework, and your materials are functioning for you, can

you put them into the service

of

what inspires you. My

concern has most often been to use the camera to try and

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express the quiet forces moving in nature, to

make

visible the

constant flow to fmd the subtle dimension o the landscape

behind the landscape. My inspiration doesn't always come

from previous work, but more from the relationship between

what's in me at the moment and what's out there. My

problem

is

to remain

as

free

as

possible from what I've done

in the past, in order

to

truly get hold o what

is

affecting

me in the present. When

an image

registers on the ground

glass it's as much me and

my

attitude

as

nature's presentation.

I continue to grow by asking

myself; am

I

really

free

am

I

really

seeing?

I might work for

days

even though there is

nothing happening. It's easy I'm bored, I don't know what

else to do so I might borrow from old work. The point

is

to

keep working because I never know when a change w ll come,

when I w ll move out o the old vantage point, and tune in to

the

subtletY

that's flickering out there. Freedom and discovery

nourish my work.

Each person who approaches a work o art will apprehend it

in a different way. Rather than impose my

feelings

and

interpretations, I let the viewer appreciate it and bring to it is

or her own experiences. For example, the ratio o light to dark

in each photograph creates a different effect in each viewer.

The light and dark shapes in SLIGO WATERFALL,

as

opposed

to Redding Woods River or Running Deer, stimulates a

different reaction. When I'm photographing, I don't think

about the proportions

o

light and darkness. The quantities

and qualities

are

quietly felt by me and

my

hands and eyes .

organize the image into existence on the ground

glass.

COPYRIGHT PAUL CAPONIGRO

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Paul Caponigro Landscape Theory