Morris Rosenfeld left
school in 1898 at age 13 to apprentice to various photographers, one of whom was Edwin
Levick, the leading yacht photographer of the day. In 1908 he set up his own studio
in Manhattan and in his early years he took
on industrial and advertising assignments which enabled him to pursue his
passion, the imagery of watercraft. He used a large format one shot film camera. He
eventually brought his three sons David, Stanley, and William into the business
and they also published under the name of M. Rosenfeld as their father would
not allow them to use their own names.
Through a process known as dodging and burning (also used by Ansel Adams) they became masters of photo
manipulation, even adding clouds in the developing process. Their pictures, most of
which were black and white, look like paintings and project a sense of movement
and power. Their 1938 picture "Flying
Spinnakers" was on the cover of Time Magazine. In 1984 after more than 100 years
and almost one million prints, Stanley Rosenfeld, the last surviving son, sold
the collection to the Mystic Seaport Museum.
Morris Rosenfeld and his sons wanted to project
the beauty of the sea and the vessels that sailed (and motored) it. They had an eye for detail and composition and their use of imaging techniques transformed
their pictures into works of art. They
were the acknowledged leaders in their field for over 100 years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodging_and_burning
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodging_and_burning
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