High Photographic Modernism II

The Group f.64 championed the notion of "straight photography" - making prints that best expressed the technology of photography without additional artifice taken from painting and drawing. They thought that their techniques were objective, and they rejected the subjective quality of earlier photographic styles. The famous photographers in this group, which included Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, Edward Weston, and others, tended to make images that were sharp, deep-focused, well-exposed, carefully framed, simply composed, and often used difficult and time-consuming darkroom techniques to bring out detail in the image. Being from San Francisco, California, USA, they often had Western US themes, showing a way of life that was being lost, as well as showing a land of inspiration and hope. They also photographed large public-work projects and the plight of workers during the Great Depression. However, images submitted to this challenge need not follow these themes.