Group f/64
- Choice Group f/64 was an iconic San Francisco Bay Area photography movement that heavily influenced Judy Dater and many other artists. The group members included Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Dorothea Lange, Willard Van Dyke and Imogen Cunningham. The group promoted a new style of photography that Dater ended up using during her career. They introduced a different approach to black and white photos that emphasized careful framing and sharp focus. They wanted to present the camera’s vision as clearly as possible. This is called straight photography. The purpose of straight photography is to make the photos look less like paintings and more like photos using sharp contrast. With this, people learned how to capture the reality of the world without having to manipulate the photo after it has already been produced. Group f/64 was so iconic because it was one of the first modern art movements equally defined by women. It promoted the photographic careers of all of the members while moving away from pictorialism. Dater used this way of new photography to capture “pure” imagery like her many images taken at Yosemite national park and at other outdoor landscapes. Many people still use straight photography to this day and influences of it.