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Elliott Erwitt on the art of photographic sequencing

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/magazine-17295728

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Inspired by your love of photo books, I'm now in heaven with two of them: The Daybooks of Edward Weston (recommended by you) and Fred Herzog: Modern Color (recommended by Anthony Morganti). There's a third one, which I'm enjoying but not as much. I'm composing a post about all three now.

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Ha! Now I wanna know which book no. 3 is! Looking forward to your post. I have the Herzog one on my wishlist...

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Dec 1, 2023Liked by Susanne Helmert

This is such an interesting topic, Susanne and you did a great job explaining the complexity of a sequence. I was just talking about this with my intern the other day and discussing the differences between diptychs, sequences and a longer format as a photo essay, all the way to a complete project.

Much to explore here!

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Yes, so much to explore. I feel like I have only scratched the surface. I think, I will write another newsletter about this...

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Amazing, hopefully with some examples with your work 😃

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Geeking out on photo sequencing is something I enjoy, Susanne. An insightful piece.

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Thank you, Stella!

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Thanks for sharing! What a wonderful method of really becoming immersed in the scene. I’ll enjoy experimenting with this in the future, because it’s always my top goal to share in a way that the reader can feel like they’re experiencing that moment of connection in person...But as you said, my default is to choose one, the “best” - when perhaps the best is more than one!

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I know, right? It is such a great way to take the viewer with you and deepen the experience for them and yourself!

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Hola , Gracias Por La Explicación Sobre La Secuenciacion De Imágenes , Ahora Entiendo Perfectamente La Técnica. Sobre El Fotógrafo Robert Adams No Lo Conocía , En Mí Próximas Visitas Por Librerías Buscaré Sus Libros. Gracias Por Compartir Su Trabajo. Un Saludo.

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Gracias por leer mi ensayo. Robert Adams es un icono de la fotografía estadounidense. Usted debe observarlo bien primero. ¡También tiene un sitio web al que puedes ir y echarle un vistazo!

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Thanks for the inspiration Susanne https://rossduncan.substack.com/p/sequencing-and-a-koala

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Excellent, Ross! Thank you for sharing!

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Dec 16, 2023Liked by Susanne Helmert

As a new subscriber I get to spend some time going through past posts..I enjoyed the utube video with Robert Adams, I think I started being aware of him when I got the New Topographics book, I have a couple of other books by him and I will now go through a very disorganized bookcase to find the others..thank you

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Thank you so much for being here and taking the time to reading some of my older posts. The good thing about a disorganised bookcase is, that you sometimes stumble upon books you didn't remember you even had (I am speaking from experience!)

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Dec 1, 2023Liked by Susanne Helmert

Really lovely post. What about the robert frank type of sequencing (or the hate of traditional approaches)? I used a half frame for a while and did mini sequences of the same place. Variations there of. After reading this I am excited to pick that up again :-)

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Thanks, Omri! I am familiar with Robert Frank of course, but wasn‘t aware that he has unique way of sequencing. But I think, I will deepen the topic in another newsletter soon. There is so much more to it. As you said dyptichs are a type of sequencing too!

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A lovely writeup, and the video was so wonderful!

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Yes, the video was the best!

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This was my first introduction to Robert Adams. Thank you.

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Wonderful, Larry! Definitely worth a deeper look at this work!

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Another insightful read. Thank you.

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Thank you for reading, Andrew!

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Beautiful, Susanne!

How do you work with sequencing your work? Do you do it digitally or on a floor/wall? Love hearing how people do this. I think it's one of the hardest parts.

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Thank you, Zachary! I am a very haptic person in many ways and sequencing is no different. I like to have small prints I can lay out and move around on a table. It helps me visualize the sequence. At least for things like zine or books.

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I'm the same way.

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Thanks for this really interesting perspective. My own instinct is to avoid showing variations on an image except as a one-off, or a change of pace. This gives me a lot to ponder about alternate approaches. Good stuff!!!

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Thanks, Donn! It was an eye opener and really made me overthink my own approach as I always would pick the best version, when I had taken several images of a scene or subject. Which is totally fine, but in some cases I really like the technique of using a series of images. Happy to hear it makes you ponder!

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You are so welcome! If I can inspire someone I made something right! I am so glad you enjoyed it. Robert Adams‘s work is deep and definitely worth a second look.

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Well, then better unsubscribed before I share my favorite photobooks of 2023! 🤣

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