Home Wikituition Browse all terms Categories
Random term
Genres, Movements & Theory

Group f/64

A short-lived association of West Coast American photographers formed in 1932 to advocate sharp, unmanipulated photography.

In depth

The name refers to the smallest aperture on a large-format lens, chosen because it delivers maximum depth of field — a statement of principle in a number. Its members, among them Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and Imogen Cunningham, made large-format contact prints of extraordinary tonal precision and set the direction of American landscape photography.

Examples in practice

A pepper photographed at f/64 on 8×10, sharp from stem to base, exemplifies the group's stated position.