Photographing the River

In this film, Fred Picker takes us to a location that he has known for 10-12 years. A beautiful river that only he knows about, he finds this location magical as he affectionately names it his “Point Lobos of the East”.

Throughout the film Picker, as always is full of knowledge and wisdom as he discusses the delineated beautiful clean form of the rock and river formations. He decides on photographing the water and stone elements in a 50-50 ratio, calling it his “Yin and Yang principle”. The Chinese idea of balancing each other out; he goes on further to describe how seemingly disjunct or opposing forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, giving rise to each other in turn.

His legendary exposure Zone once again plays an important role when studying and photographing his subjects. These simple rules and guidelines are ubiquitous in Picker’s photographs and even the most professional photographer still always has something new to learn from Picker.

His valuable technical information regarding tonal value, composition, cropping, development time, shapes and forms, aperture and all other relevant terms in his photography and printing are wonderfully reviewed. Picker wraps up this series beautifully with the necessary information not only regarding photography itself, but the mastery of photographic printing. This film brings a harmonious closure to an exciting and unique film series courtesy of Calumet Photographic Inc. USA.

Internationally celebrated photographer, Fred Picker will be long remembered for his photographic work. Picker’s wide, sweeping wilderness landscapes and intimate studies of natural forms have been held up alongside the work of Ansel Adams, Paul Strand and Edward Weston.

Picker was involved in the manufacture of 4 x 5 and 8 x 10 large format field cameras. And his filters, camera designs, tripods and other photographic aids are still considered indispensable tools of the trade by photographers. He taught a highly successful photography class known as "The Zone VI Workshop," and authored a book by the same name that has become recognized as the golden standard of photographic instruction.

His uncanny sense of "photographer's intuition” and his passion for the art was a unique combination. Always opinionated and oft times controversial, his dedication to large format photography was unsurpassed. Many called Picker’s straightforward approach to the relationship between the "scene" and the final print, pure genius. But Picker himself had a more grounded approach to encouraging his students and other photographers. Picker will always be known for saying, "If you want to know what happens with this or that, don't ask me ... test it." That phrase was simple, but it made perfect sense to the many who have followed his wise advice.

With a love for the photographic art form, his contributions to photography as an educator, equipment designer/manufacturer, writer and artist, Picker was a true Pioneer that improved the field of photography.

Picker once wrote, on the occasion of Ansel Adams’s passing away, to "lift a glass to him, he would appreciate that". That’s Picker: always thoughtful, always caring.

Fred Picker, 1927 - 2002

*Special thanks to Calumet Photographic USA for making this film available to FotoTV