Weston or Adams

[BOBBYCTKR]

I have always liked E. Weston more than A. Adams. I find AA to be somewhat boring ( gasp. Did I just commit a sacrilege ?), whereas Weston's photographs have always held my attention. To me Adams is superior in technique but Weston has more heart and Weston will always be my guy.
I see Weston as Socrates and Adams as Plato; Weston as L DaVinci and Adams as Michaelangelo. And my personal preference has always been favourable towards the former.
Disclaimer: This post is totally my opinion and personal preference. Does not mean others have to agree to it and no disrespect intended towards anyone.
Cheers.

[juan]

I would tend to favor Weston, too. But, I gained a different view of Adams when I got a chance to see a collection of Adams prints held by a private collector. It included many prints that were made at about the same time as the negative. These images are much smaller and more subtle that the later versions Adams made. So, he was able to change his vision and interpretation during his career, which is something positive.
juan

[jelke]

weston or adams, for me brett weston is the best

[Jeff Kubach]

I like them both, but right now I favor Ansel Adams.

Jeff

[Ian Grant]

Have to favour Weston, I think there's more of him, his soul, in his work. I've seen a lot of Adams work and some I found quite disappointing.

Ian

[ghostcount]

Weston FTW

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

I cant forget some of the Ansel , some of the Weston photographs. They are being engraved in my mind.
But Westons nudes are superior to all Adams photography. I prefer men to mountains.

Umut

[mabman]

Generally I favour Weston, although I find Adams' "Moonrise, Hernandez" to be quite striking.

Beyond that, I've been pleasantly surprised by some of Adams' 35mm and (I think) 4x5 people work (many taken in Los Angeles - can be searched via www.lapl.org and the "photo collections" search drop-down) - many informal, some PJ-like. His national parks work I find very formal and stuffy, but the smaller format work brings out another side.

[michaelbsc]

... I prefer men to mountains.

Umut

Well said.

[PVia]

Photography is not a contest.

I don't mean that to sound harsh, it's just that when two artists are being considered head to head it's not a simple thing to compare and it's not fair to compare. One may reverbrate more within you and that's a wonderful thing, but inevitably a thread like this...well, I don't know.

OTOH, a thread that asks something like "I don't get Alec Soth" and allows others their insight and opinions can be an incrediby fulfilling learning experience.

Or maybe I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning...