Group f.64 and Its Influence: Experiments in Modernist Photography

The short-lived photography collective Group f.64 emerged in San Francisco in 1932, with a mission to make photographs that celebrated the unique technical capabilities of the camera. F.64 was named for the smallest aperture measurement available on a view camera at the time. Members aspired to compose photographs that did not require any complex manipulations during the development process. They were determined to show the public that photography could stand on its own as an art form rather than mimic painterly qualities, as was popular in art photography at the time. Although the collective…