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Re: Ansel Adams DiscoveryFrom: parallelcooler@ggmail.com (Kris Baker) "Nancy2" <nancy-dooley@uiowa.edu> wrote in message news:7e7548ea-4a1b-45d4-a4ed-fba3448630e4@c10g2000yqi.googlegroups.com... On Jul 29, 10:15 am, "Kris Baker" <parallelcoo...@ggmail.com> wrote: "Nancy2" <nancy-doo...@uiowa.edu> wrote in message True, true. LOL. I saw a little headline today implying the glass negs might have been taken by an uncle ... which would explain two different photographic mediums taking essentially the same picture at the same time. Ansel and the "uncle" (his brother?) working together. I didn't read the article, so am not sure how the "uncle" fits. N. --------------- I'm not seeing that they worked together, but there will be more. What this COULD do, though, is deplete the value of Adams' work -- if "Uncle Earl's" photos are of similar quality. (About right now, I'm wondering if this "discovery" had anything to do with Ms Walton....a cleverly-timed news article that could raise the value of Uncle Earl's work.) Uncle Earl Brooks, not even related apparently. OAKLAND, Calif. -- A Bay Area woman may have solid proof to support the assertions of the Ansel Adams estate that negatives a Fresno People Pictures">man bought at a yard sale were not taken by the famed nature photographer as he claims. She thinks they may have been taken by her Uncle Earl. News spread Tuesday about the Fresno man who claimed to have stumbled across some of Adams' earliest works that were believed to have been destroyed in a fire. Contractor and painter Rick Norsigian said he bought the box of glass negatives at a garage sale in Fresno for $45 a decade ago. A team of art, forensic, handwriting, and even weather experts has authenticated the 65 glass negatives as the work of the iconic photographer. Norsigan and his representatives claim the negatives could be worth as much as $200 million. Oakland resident Mariam l. Walton saw a picture of the famous Jeffrey Pine on Sentinal Dome at Yosemite during a report about the find on KTVU Tuesday night. She said she immediately recognized the image as one taken by her uncle, Earl Brooks, back in 1923. "I thought 'Oh my God, that's exactly the same picture,'" said Walton. Walton said her uncle lived in the Fresno area much of his life and often took pictures at Yosemite. The photo taken by Walton's Uncle Earl looks nearly identical to one of the examples that Norsigan has claimed to be from Ansel Adams. "I keep thinking that perhaps that box of negatives belongs to Uncle Earl," said Walton. Scott Nichols of the Nichols Gallery in San Francisco has been studying Adams and his photography for 30 years. He visited Walton Wednesday to examine the photo. Nichols took measurements, studied the lighting and angles of the image. Nichols said the similarities between Uncle Earl's photo and Norsigan's purported Adams original were striking. Only the clouds are different. Nichols said that could mean Uncle Earl's photo is from another negative, taken moments later during the same shoot. "What I find very interesting is the shadow detail down in here," said Nichols with the photo in hand. "The shadows in the sunlight over here and over in here are almost identical." When asked for his opinion whether Walton's long passed uncle had debunked the alleged Ansel Adams discovery, Nichols indicated the photo presented a strong argument. "To duplicate those shadows, to have the camera sit in the exact same place by two different photographers is virtually impossible," said Nichols. Nichols took Walton's four pictures from her Uncle Earl in for further study. He said he'd like to compare them with Ansel Adams originals and those found in Fresno to be able to tell with more certainty whether those new pictures are Ansel Adams' or Uncle Earl's. With all the publicity about the alleged "Ansel Adams" pictures bought by Rick Norsigian at a Fresno yard sale over the past few days, the real identity of the pictures may have come to light. KTVU Channel 2 in Oakland broke the story on its evening news last night. As soon as a local woman named Miriam I. Walton saw the pictures, she recognized them as her Uncle Earl's. Earl Brooks was a lifelong resident of Fresno, where the 65 negatives were found, and often photographed at Yosemite. Mrs. Walton has four of his prints, one of which is nearly identical to one of the Norsigian pictures, with the same shadows and what look to be the same clouds after a few minutes of movement. The evidence is as yet preliminary, but I hereby place my "all in" bet that the Rick Norsigian glass plates turn out to have been taken by "Uncle Earl" Brooks. (Even if they aren't, I'll still bet they're not by Adams. They just don't look like him to me.) You can read the story and see the video here. I might add that KTVU Oakland has restored my shaky faith in the news media somewhat. Finally-a little actual reporting, instead of the endless repetition of a story that would be so very appealing if only it were true. ....Oh, and it looks like Uncle Earl is having a one-man show in Beverly Hills!* Mike *I can't take credit for this great line. It's Brian's. Too good not to use, though. (Thanks to Brian Vahey) ---------------------- Kris
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