Hero Worship: Darius Kinsey, Photographer 1890 - 1940

[jimgalli]

"Then I remember a Columbia River Gorge trip. That was one of those deals when just Mother and I went along. And we got so darned impatient. It was a hot day and we were hot, and we had that Franklin Touring car. He wanted to take a picture of the river and he went way up in the dry foothills, and there were rattlesnakes up there. I wonder to this day how he ever escaped without being bitten. Anyway, he went up there and he took a panorama picture, and he really got a bird's-eye view." [SIZE=0]Darius Kinsey Jr. 1973[/SIZE]

A snippet from Kinsey, Photographer. Not an expensive book, but a must have. Darius Kinsey tramped from one end of Wahington state to the other with an 11X14 Empire State camera and made photographs of the woods and the people working in them for 50 years! He finally fell off a stump in 1940 (age 71) and had to retire. From photographs of him, I would guess his weight at 155 pounds. He wasn't a big man. But the 1114 was the small camera. He also had a mammoth plate 20X24, and a Cirkut.

Truly, giants roamed the earth in those days. The book has scores of his 11X14 plates to enjoy.

[Curt]

When I grew up and went to school in Washington State the history books were filled with pictures of the early days with forests and the men who worked there. I didn't know about him until years later. He had a studio not far from where I live. Look at the web site, do you have a tripod that goes up that high? Do they even make a tripod that goes up that high. Then there is the ladder. The trees were so much bigger then. In the future the only old trees might be in old photographs.
http://www.whatcommuseum.org/pages/archives/kinsey.htm

[GregT.]

Truly, giants roamed the earth in those days. The book has scores of his 11X14 plates to enjoy.

The University of Washington is home to the Darius Kinsey Photograph Collection that houses 160 of his images in their online digital collection. Click here to view. A truly remarkable man that personifies passion.

[Dave Wooten]

I think a good name for a tripod would be the Darius,,,,but would it stand up in a wind called Mariah? Thanks Jim G for loaning me the Kinsey book....it is an inspiration.....will get it back to you next week....

Dave

[David A. Goldfarb]

Great stuff! I love the handcolored landscapes. Definitely inspiration there to shoot more 11x14".

Curt--George Losse has a tripod that goes up that high, which he bought from me, which I bought as part of an estate lot from someone who must have been an architectural photographer, judging from the other equipment in the lot. It was a Majestic tripod with a set of extension legs and a rapid center column inside a geared center column and a Majestic geared head on top. I think they still make it. The best thing about it, I thought, was that it had a bubble level vial aligned with each leg. Every tripod should have this feature!

[medform-norm]

Hum, I'm split over these images. A documentation of the destruction of the forests, does that make me happy? No. To me these are very violent and forceful images and remind me of a rather sickening documentary I saw on deforestation in Argentina last year. Do I think it's an interesting series? Yes, since it is important that these (climate changing) events are documented. Heroe worship? That would be too much. Sorry, not enough American blood in my veins, I guess.

[scootermm]

Sorry, not enough American blood in my veins, I guess.

thats an insulting comment, and I imagine if someone had made a similiarly ethnocentric (condescending nation generalization) about the netherlands, perhaps, youd likely not enjoy or appreciate it.

[MattCarey]

Jim,

you have probably owned (or own) at least one item (camera, lens, filmholder) that he did in his lifetime.

Matt

[MattCarey]

thats an insulting comment, and I imagine if someone had made a similiarly ethnocentric (condescending nation generalization) about the netherlands, perhaps, youd likely not enjoy or appreciate it.

Could I ask all in the thread to refrain from the obvious an pointless sidetrack we could go on?

Matt

[scootermm]

agreed matt. I admire the work. the photographer was creating, what looks like, gorgeous images. Recording and capturing fleeting moments in US history. Maybe they are negative or a harmful part of that history. But arent we all trying to capture moments.

the comment seemed too nonchalant and rude not too comment in reply.

Could I ask all in the thread to refrain from the obvious an pointless sidetrack we could go on?

Matt