I had an unforgettable experience the other day... an exhibition of 1930s Walker Evans images. Amazingly, they were being shown in an old farmhouse near the Dorset village of Symondsbury. After an hour or so trekking along overgrown bridleways, armed with an Ordnance Survey map, we did manage to find the place. And what a reward... to see the photos that previously I'd only viewed in books was, well, stunning. They were silver prints taken from the original negs (mainly 10 x 8 plates, I believe). It makes me realise how much is lost in any kind of reproduction. You could see fantastic detail in those street scenes. And the farmhouse photos took on another dimension, especially with the harvesting in full swing just a few yards away outside THIS window ! Interestingly, the famous image of the tenant farmer's wife was slightly different from the one you see here. A very faint hint of relaxation. Apparently he took several of her round the back of the farmhouse. On another note, I was intrigued by a copy of a 35mm contact sheet, which he did much later of passengers in a tube train.
The pictures here are from the Life Library of Photography (highly recommended).
