"Adoration"

photogravure

Important representative of the American pictorialism. Fassbender was born in Germany and time and again returned to the Black Forest or Tyrol to take pictures.
(Fritz Simak)

In the valley of a typical Tyrolean village. It is vesper time and the two ladies in their holiday attire have come from afar to worship. The highway leads upward, and, from this elevated position near the curve of the road, one cannot help but admire in reverence, the grandeur of nature. But this is the day of the Lord and the old ladies’ hearts are filled with adoration in the face of the Cathedral and the constant presence of the Almighty.
Composition:
Steelyard arrangement. Motif: The ladies versa the church. Position and attitude convey their thoughts, which must lead one’s eye to the church, thereby bringing about unison. The lines down the sloping hills lead into the center of the panorama and the mountain in the distance blocks the exit and forces one’s mind back to the motif.
Technical Problems:
The women had to be posed, as it would be impossible to photograph them without arousing their curiosity and they would be looking toward the camera. Separation of subject matter was brought about by raising the tone of the meadows behind the figures to a higher key. This was done on groundglass with chalk work. Over-emphasis of other light areas in the picture was subdued by local reduction in the negative. The original clouds were mushy and looked unreal, so they had to be substituted.
Data:Camera: 2 ¼ x 3 ¼ Makina
Lens: Anticomar
Filter: Medium Yellow
Stop: f.11
Exposure: 1/25, in hand
Film: Agfa Super Plenachrome
Print: 14x17 Tuma Gas, direct enlargement
(Adolf Fassbender, 1937)