"Good Bye"

St. Lawrence River (CAN)

photogravure

Important representative of the American pictorialism. Fassbender was born in Germany and time and again returned to the Black Forest or Tyrol to take pictures.
(Fritz Simak)

Good by father! Goody bye brother! Come home soon.It is along the shores of the St. Lawrence stream where its width measures twenty miles or more, but the fishing is usually carried on close to shore and no big boats are needed. The little girl does not know where they are going—she is deep in thought—Oh yes, they will bring big fish and plenty of them in large barrels packed with salt to be sent to the United States. So she told me in French. And so I posed her to convey the story of “Good Bye”.
Composition:
Steelyard—arranged to impress by its simplicity. The rock in the middle distance was left to detract from the monotonous horizon line. The tone scale is left in grey shades to add to the sad mood of the setting.
Technical Problems:
The fishermen were coming in with their catch. Dozens of their relatives rushed to their aid to carry away the fish in baskets. There were too many people to make a picture, therefore posing had to be done. I told the two girls and the fishermen the story of “Good Bye” and with a little practise [sic] of rowing in and out, it worked. There were more rocks in the water, taking away from the simplicity. They were removed by retouching. Irregular grain was introduced into the print to suggest atmosphere.
Data:
Camera: 2 ¼ x 3 ¼ Makina
Lens: Plaubel Anticomar
Stop: f.8
Filter: Light Yellow
Exposure: 1/50 in hand
Film: Agfa Super Plenachrome
Print: 14x17 Tuma Gas, direct
(Adolf Fassbender, 1937)