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Fun with the Leica M Monochrom

airfrogusmc

Well-known member
The moment I saw this image I immediately thought "Norman Rockwell" written all over it! That girl, that dress, that puffy jacket on top of her dress along with her apparent wonderment in staring at the poster (in front of her)! Great Capture!

Dave (D&A)
Thanks Dave....
 

D&A

Well-known member
woody is an up-town boy;. i'm 50% brooklyn, 50% downtown, of course a transplant from oregon
LOL, it's all relative. Years ago when working on a major project in NYC and vacinity photographing workers in industrial setting much like yours (with a Leica RF and B&W film of course)this New Yorker (originally from the Bronx and the Island) would be confronted by the those in the factories and they would detect I was from the suburbs due to my mannerismsand maybe the look of wonderment in my eye.

Yet my cousins from Long Island, 45 minutes away would refer to me as the "City Slicker". Guess no matter where ones from, culturally they can be looked upon in many different ways.

Hey this city fella still stops and stares at cows in the pasture. Now realizing milk comes from them, not the shelf in the supermarket. :)

Dave (D&A)
 

D&A

Well-known member
You bet. Much more than I expected. Too little time to shoot though.

Joe
One day my prince....um I mean my monochrom will come. The question is when...LOL, enjoying this thread emensely in addition to having the opportunity to shoot the monochrom.

Dave (D&A)
 

airfrogusmc

Well-known member
You're welcome. All she needed was a ice cream cone in her hand, slightly dripping while she starred straight ahead and the illusion of a Norman Rockwell image would have been complete.

Dave (D&A)
Unfortunately even if she would have had one its been to cold around her to melt anything. We are getting just a taste of spring today but this is really the first we've seen of anything that remotely looks like it.
 

D&A

Well-known member
But the word HENRI, was the Leica in house code name for the Monochrom camera prior to launch.
Lou, that didn't escape me, being well aware of the "HENRI" connection in the image....but the strength of the image I believe to most (hopefully so), was the Norman Rockwell-ish elements that comprised the image. Where the viewing public might recognize this, only Leicafiles would connect with the "HENRI" aspect.

Dave (D&A)
 
V

Vivek

Guest
Dave, I am none of those and not a clue who/what HENRI is. Could you give a web link to the picture you allude to and how that relates to the picture you commented on? Thanks.
 

D&A

Well-known member
Unfortunately even if she would have had one its been to cold around her to melt anything. We are getting just a taste of spring today but this is really the first we've seen of anything that remotely looks like it.
We've had a long cold winter back east too but today is definitely spring-like and the Blooming of the National Cherry Blossom trees can't be far behind.

Dave (D&A)
 

algrove

Well-known member
Lou, that didn't escape me, being well aware of the "HENRI" connection in the image....but the strength of the image I believe to most (hopefully so), was the Norman Rockwell-ish elements that comprised the image. Where the viewing public might recognize this, only Leicafiles would connect with the "HENRI" aspect.

Dave (D&A)
Ok, thought you would have known. Agree with the NR elements to image. It's just that the spelling gave it away to me as being French and then HCB came to mind tout de suite.
 

D&A

Well-known member
Thanks, Dave. i figured that out. The other name drop and how that connects to that photo, I am still confused though.
You mean when I referenced the name "Norman Rockwell" to the image everyone refers to as "HENRI"? Norman Rockwell" was a quintessential American illustrator for the Saturday evening Post. His illustrations depicted everyday people in typical everyday type situations that we're all seen in and settings that for many was the essence of everyday American life in the 40's, 50's and 60's Typical Americana as some have referred to it. Many times the illustration is a shown as a slight exaggeration of a person or seen that is all too familiar to most of us.

A google or other appropriate search will reveal a lot more.

The image posted here on Getdpi, shows a young girl in puffy dress wearing a equally puffy overcoat and we see her from behind in what appears to the/her everyday curiosity we often see in such situations. It's not only her mannerisms and stance but her clothes as described and I have often seen similar Norman Rockwell illustrations,with similar individuals where their clothes are not only depicted in a similar fashion, but a sort of similar situation. Hope that gives some idea of my reference and it's relationship to the image.

Now onto the Ashwin image I referenced by naming Renoir an obscure little known artist. Maybe some have heard of him.....LOL! :)

Dave (D&A)
 
V

Vivek

Guest
Thanks, Dave. i will look up up who this Renoir is as well. :)

Your creative thinking is making me look up these little known names. :)
 

D&A

Well-known member
Norman Rockwell in his sort of very innocent style also stereotypes everyday American culture, especially in the era's I mentioned (early and mid 20th century). He was an illustrator and once you look on the web for his most well know images, I think you'll have a good idea of what I am referring to. I'm sure many others here can do a better job explaining Norman Rockwell than I can. He a humorist and often humanizes the way he depicts his scene.

Whether it's the child in the dentist chair, the little boy looking up and the big heavy policeman, the little girl eating her melting ice cream cone with her little dog next to her looking at it drip with puppy dog eyes...these images of course can be universal but he often Americanizes many of them with objects that signify America...such as the American flag or some other identifiable object. Sometimes it's simply the person or scene that stereotypes what most upon first glance would say "that's typical America or American.

Dave (D&A)
 
V

Vivek

Guest
Dave I thought you were talking about an unknown Norman Rockwell. Now, that you gone in to so much description (I appreciate that), I am at a loss to see any connection whatsoever to his illustrations and Allen's photo. Faces and expressions are a key element in Norman Rockwell's illustrations, if i understand it correctly.
 

D&A

Well-known member
Dave I thought you were talking about an unknown Norman Rockwell. Now, that you gone in to so much description (I appreciate that), I am at a loss to see any connection whatsoever to his illustrations and Allen's photo. Faces and expressions are a key element in Norman Rockwell's illustrations, if i understand it correctly.
Yes, correct. faces & expressions were a key feature of Rockwell's illustrations (but not always) but almost equally important was both the garb (clothes) the person was wearing (many times it's appearance or style exaggerated) as was the body posture or positioning of the individual. As you correctly stated, the viewer cannot see the face of the girl in Allen's photo, unfortunately, but her dress and overcoat in my opinion almost looks exaggerated in the style I'd often see illustrated by Norman Rockwell, along with her almost innocence or possibly wonderment at what she was staring at.

Not what I was exactly looking for, but at 2:45am here and exhausted...I quickly grabbed this Rockwell image (see the link provided)

Link----> http://web.pdx.edu/~sew/picture.html

of a man who's back is to the viewer, staring at a painting. Sort of the same concept. The man in the image is quizzical about the painting he's looking at (similar to the girl in Allen's photo) and the man is also is illustrated with a unique posture.

I'll have to find a Rockwell image with a girl in a puffy dress and overcoat which will further illustrate my point.

Maybe it's much like seeing a serene scene of a waterway and a certain type of boat (or party boat full of individuals) meandering off the shore. Just maybe all the elements present themselves in such a way that someone exclaims "Renoir". They immediately make the connection as I did in Ashwin's extremely fine photo...but others may or may not identify or notice this connection. Just an analogy of what I was trying to get at in Allen's image.

Dave (D&A)
 
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