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photo_secessionist's photostream
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"He will die telling God that if he could live a few years longer he might be the photographer he wanted to be." - Carl Sandburg (about Edward Steichen)
I'm A Photographer Not A Terrorist
Photo Secessionist, or Photo Regressionist? It's hard for me to say. I am a great admirer of the Photo Secession movement - the greats like Steichen, Stieglitz and Weston. They were attempting to esablish photography as an art form in it's own right - seperate, alike, from the constraints of painting and the harsh realism of then-current photography. Reality was a big part of their advocacy of photography - but a reality that revealed something beyond the merely pictorial. I'm trying to go back to their influences, using their medium (film) and their tools - vintage cameras from the 1920's, 30's & 40's.
I learned to shoot on my father's 1950's Agfa Karat and I'm still in love with film. I shoot digital and film - it's all in choosing the right tool, isn't it? But I've been told I'm very "process oriented" (it was NOT meant as a compliment) and I'm afraid I must plead guilty. It's the process of film that attracts me - the "journey" - and it still enthralls me after all these years. Hopefully, every now and again, process and result will merge into an interesting image.
I use very little post-processing. I believe my images ought to tell a story with as little interference as possible. And, for me, there is always a story. I find photography the ultimate story-telling medium... without using words. Each photo can and ought to stand alone; each viewer can, and should, find his own story there - a story which may be completely different from what I see. Enjoy (I hope) and interpret for yourself - make your own stories. Stories without words... it's a great concept!
"The mission of photography is to explain man to man and each to himself. And that is the most complicated thing on earth." - Edward Steichen
ArtLibre member

Cameras that I use regularly:
Zeiss Ikon Contax III 35mm r/f (Zeiss f1.5 5cm Sonnar)
Graflex Speed Graphic 4x5 (Kodak Ektar f4.7 135mm)
Rolleiflex Standard 6x6 TLR K2 Model 622 (Zeiss f3.5 7.5cm Tessar)
Arsenal Salyut-S medium format SLR (Vega 12-B f2.8 90mm)
Pentax ME Super 35mm SLR (Soligor f3.5-4.5 28-80mm Zoom Macro)
Mamiya ZE 35mm (Mamiya-sekor f2 50mm E-series lens)
MY WORK HAS VALUE!
Photographers' Rights Group.

Some thoughts on photography from photographers I admire :
"No photographer is as good as the simplest camera."- Edward Steichen
"The good photographer not only sees - he looks; and in the process of looking, insight is developed to the point where the object looks back at the photographer - and together they make the photo." - Edward Steichen
Consulting the rules of composition before taking a photograph, is like consulting the laws of gravity before going for a walk." - Edward Weston
"Every other artist begins with a blank canvas, a piece of paper the photographer begins with the finished product." - Edward Steichen
"Photography is a very subtle thing. You must let the camera take you by the hand, as it were, and lead you into your subject." - Margaret Bourke-White
"The pictures are there, and you just take them." - Robert Capa
"On ne photographie que soi-même." ("We only photograph ourself.") - Michel Tournier
"Lady I take pictures, I don't interpret reality!"- Arthur Fellig ("Weegee')
"I never photographed a subject more than one or two exposures, then I'd go on to something else. I don't admire photographers who use motors." - Peter Stackpole
"I just always shied away from putting myself in a position of having to get that moment. I'd be around on the back side shooting something else or something." - Michael Mauney (on newspaper photography)
"I'd rather stalk with a camera than a gun." - Toni Frissell
"Whenever I get discouraged I remember how much money Van Gogh made from his painting." - Anon.
"After it is scanned, it is all digital, isn't it?" - Karine Burkel
"Amateurs worry about equipment,
professionals worry about money,
masters worry about light,
I just make pictures... " - Vernon Trent
"For an artist there are NO good habits." - Edward Steichen
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Photos of photo_secessionist (24)
photo_secessionist's favorite photos from other Flickr members (694)
Contacts (774)
Groups (50)
- www.street-photographers.com 310 photos, 2,738 members
- biAnco e neRo - Art and Shadows 636 photos, 144 members
- Mamiya Love (FILM ONLY) 69,579 photos, 5,234 members
- Many Views, Few Comments 216 photos, 78 members
- Hommage à Doisneau 22,389 photos, 1,766 members
- I Love Trains 225,169 photos, 13,135 members
- Good photo,good details 4,610 photos, 549 members
- Written Pages 5,428 photos, 215 members
- Hi Low 227 photos, 23 members
- The Art of Reading 177 photos, 221 members
- Photographing the life 2,489 photos, 356 members
- B&H Photo 39,514 photos, 5,653 members
- http://www.flickr.com/groups/kornrawieegallery/ 1,936 photos, 514 members
- Dragon Gold Award " The Best Of Flickr " 430,678 photos, 25,425 members
- THE AVAILABLE LIGHT GROUP 1,002 photos, 44 members
- Solomons Island Maryland 193 photos, 16 members
- DazzlePix RETRO, VINTAGE & ANTIQUE (Photos & iPhoneography) 1,500 photos, 135 members
- Wartime Defences 5,711 photos, 339 members
- artland 392,354 photos, 27,677 members
- The Artist Interview Nook 25 photos, 189 members
- Plimoth Plantation Pool 157 photos, 23 members
- WW2 17,409 photos, 1,046 members
- urban challenge (post 1-comment 1 with our "seen in") 17,576 photos, 2,942 members
- Lovely villages, fields, meadows, swamps & countryside 162,339 photos, 5,892 members
- Famous photographers 217 photos, 82 members
- MONOCROMO// -Tópico de la semana # 51,670 photos, 2,216 members
- Film Without Training Wheels 13,304 photos, 473 members
- Caffenol 10,042 photos, 1,752 members
- 2011 NHL Photo Contest 192 photos, 129 members
- The Free Photographers (P2 C2) 61,047 photos, 2,913 members
- German Cameras 5,345 photos, 155 members
- The Light Painters Society 261,965 photos, 12,995 members
- Rolleiflex Old Standard 223 photos, 43 members
- * ~ ♥ ~ Autumn, Harvest-time & Happy Thanksgiving 2,068 photos, 228 members
- Mono_maniacal 11,329 photos, 297 members
- Trains On Film 2,616 photos, 77 members
- Fotar & Aprender 21,346 photos, 540 members
- Black and White Film Photography (bwfp) 71,199 photos, 2,849 members
- " EYEs SEE YoU ~ PeeK-A-Boo " 4,797 photos, 365 members
- * Reflections of All Kinds (post 1 ~ award 1) 10,853 photos, 707 members
- Dated Vintage Photographs (pre 1945) 2,770 photos, 236 members
- Cafes, Coffee Houses, Burger Joints, Food Carts. 38,797 photos, 2,275 members
- Expired, retired but still fired! 5,005 photos, 688 members
- Elgin Park 126 photos, 133 members
- I got a new hat for christmas! 176 photos, 227 members
- Global Photojournalism; Politics, News, Protest, and Culture 160,281 photos, 11,398 members
- Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love 3,914 photos, 1,486 members
- Geotagged: Maryland 2,169 photos, 78 members
- ❤ *THE PEACE IN THE FUTURE* ❤ ❤❤ Sweeper on P1 & C 3 10,824 photos, 1,562 members
- Steam power . . . .ed! 46,222 photos, 1,183 members
Galleries (9)
- Essentials 5 photos
- Steichen Would Still Be Proud... 13 photos
- Ars Gratia Artis 6 photos
- I Wish I Could... 11 photos
- The Look 14 photos
Testimonials (3)
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E *** friends only stream says:
"Wes has a way with him.. he's kind and gentle.. and generous..
Wes also has an extremely good eye
he's such a wonderful friend to have here in flickr.. his comments are always so supportive, of all of us.. truly
through his photographs he shares his interests.. and his thoughts.. both of which are always interesting
one more thing I'd like to say.. he never pushes.. he's always respectful.. and he still manages to be open hearted.. to let you know that he cares.. I find that remarkable"23rd July, 2011
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Paolita54 says:
"About one year ago I have joined this wide, sooo wide Flickr community and I had the chance to meet very interesting people all "linked" by the same big passion, the passion for photography and classic cameras collecting. I still continue to explore this wide community, to find beautiful photos, nice cameras collections and very nice, interesting person, Robert belongs to the group of nice person I have met since I joined Flickr. I have realised he has a great passion fo Arts in general , for Photography, for classic cameras and I like the way he is using this classic cameras that, despite their "age" continue to be an excellent tool to express creativity, a joy to own and collect and (in my case) a perfect "training" tool to learn more and more what is the real meaning of "photography". I am very happy to have a new friend here and would like to wish Robert all the very best for his life and his great passions (like photography)
CIAO! from your italian friend,
Paola"20th August, 2010
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Skip Cooper -aka powman says:
" I will not let a week go by without browsing Wes's photostream......lest I forget what photography is truly about. Flickr will not let me write two testimonials for the same person, so this is an addendum to the original. I think out of all of my contacts Wes is the one that I learn the most from, the one whose comments are the most significant to me. His work strikes some chord within me. It's quiet thoughtful nature perhaps is similar to my own personality. Wes is not a "friend" of mine in the sense that we have known each other apart from comments and interchanges about our photographs. The artist reveals himself through his work, is relfected in it. What I see is a man concerned with what is important in the lives of human beings. The beauty of nature, the beauty of humans, the unavoidable coming of death, the heroic feats of men and women in war, the gallantry of patriots, love and loss. I also see in his photographs the things that we should all be grateful for....the warm cup on a cold day, the favorite baseball cap, the small details of our lives that can so easily be taken for granted. This is what I try to learn from Wes."
5th July, 2009
- Name:
- Robert Wesley Stone (Returned and catching up!)
- Joined:
- October 2006
- Hometown:
- "The Centre of the Universe"
- Currently:
- Ex-Pat now living in Maryland, U.S.A.
- I am:
- Male
- Website:
- Victory Photos







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