Well, I think you're splitting hairs here Tom. <g> I guess what I ~should~ have said is that some of his prints were cropped. Whether he did it, or his lab guy at Magnum did really doesn't matter, IMHO.
The fact is that it happened. His famous photograph, "Derriere la Gare Saint-Lazare", the one of the fellow stepping off the horizontal ladder into a large pool of water is an example. At least one third (maybe more) of the bottom of the neg is cropped out, as is a good bit of the left-hand side. I'm looking at a photograph of the negative and comparing it to the print, as I type this (both are in the May 1998 Photo magazine [French version]). In that article, is stated the following: "D'ailleirs la legende qui veut qu'il refusait tout recadrage est simplement nee du fait que c'etait tres rarement necessaire." My French is weak, but I think that says: "The legend that he refused all reframing [cropping?] was simply born due to the fact that it was rarely necessary". "Rarely necessary". Certainly it was the exception, but it did happen. And, it in no way lessens my admiration for the man, who is one of my all-time favourites. regards, frank T Rittenhouse wrote: > No, HCB never cropped his images. Now his darkroom technician, or editor may > have, but HCB never did. He also, I understand, did not do his own printing; > so could say that with a straight face. > -- "The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears it is true." -J. Robert Oppenheimer
