"Tranquillity"

Nova Scotia (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)

Evening fell upon the little fisher village, and with it, silence. Nothing seemed to move—even the streaky clouds appeared stationary. From one of the little houses nearby came the gentle strains of a reed organ. This little instrument can be found in almost every house in Nova Scotia. The music had a deep effect on me while facing the serenity of the scene. A few old fisherfolk came down the road to watch the performance with the camera and tripod. I worked very carefully, as if not to disturb the spirit that floated through the air and expressed itself in “Tranquility”.
Composition:
An arrangement of many long horizontal lines, which convey peace and quiet, but here and there interrupted by delicate vertical lines which lend stability to the setting without giving it dramatic power. Also the extensive use of medium grey tones in mass adds to the serenity and simplicity of the plain motif.
Technical Problems:
The houses were of light grey color, but photographing against strong light in the sky, the film, not having the light scale capacity of the eyes, rendered the buildings dark and the sky too light, when translated to the final print. This, of course, is not in accordance with the impression one has when viewing the actual scene. Rebalancing of the negative and final print via reduction, printing in, holding back and flashing in, became a necessity, if a truer picture was to be the result.
Data:
Camera: Linhof 9x12cm
Lens: Zeiss Tessar
Stop: f.11Filter: Medium
Film: Agfa Superpan
Exposure: ½ second on tripod
Print: 14x17 Tuma Gas, direct
(Adolf Fassbender, 1937)