Ansel Adams

[Flopper]

When someone today mentions great photographs they got on vacation, we assume they are talking about pictures they took on their cellphone. However, if those pictures are of the wonders of Yosemite National Park or the Redwoods, or other parks in west, they are likely black and white photos purchased from a gift shop taken over 75 years ago by a man named Ansel Adams.

Ansel Adams began taking nature and landscape when he was 12 years old and continued for the remainder of his life. He strapped a 20 lb. 8x10 Graflex camera and tripod to his back and walked and climb for days just to get the right picture. Was it worth? Take a look and you be judge.

Adams preferred black and white over color. He did some pictures in color however the quality of the film in those days was not good.

 

[WinterBorn]

His work is beautiful! I have a copy of one of his photos hanging.

 

[Flopper]

His work is beautiful! I have a copy of one of his photos hanging.

He made an interesting comment about his pictures. He said, "My pictures are not what you would see if you were there but rather what I would like you to see." Exposing the film is only the first step in his creation. He printed every picture by hand in his darkroom, dodging areas to lighten parts of the print and burning in areas to darken. He also used filters to increase and decrease contrast. He developed many techniques in the darkroom that he never revealed. He spend days traveling to a spot for a picture and would wait for hours till the light was right. He said that he often spend more time in the darkroom creating the prints than he did taking the pictures.

Here are some I really like.

 

[Magnus]

He made an interesting comment about his pictures. He said, "My pictures are not what you would see but rather what I would like you to see." Exposing the film is only the first step in his creation. He printed every picture by hand in his darkroom, dodging areas to lighten parts of the print and burning in areas to lighten. He also used filters to increase and decrease contrast. He developed many techniques in the darkroom that he never revealed. He spend days traveling to a spot for a picture and would spend hours till the light was light. He said that he often spent as must time in darkroom creating the prints as did taking the pictures.

Here are some I really like.

Yes, he was the original Photoshop.

Had a long argument with a friend of mine who shares my hobby and for him, Adams was not a true photographer since he post-edited his pictures.

No matter how much I explained, he wouldn't concede.

 

[Flopper]

Yes, he was the original Photoshop.

Had a long argument with a friend of mine who shares my hobby and for him, Adams was not a true photographer since he post-edited his pictures.

No matter how much I explained, he wouldn't concede.

Explain it this way. An artist takes a picture with a camera, or a a sketch composing the image. He takes it to his studio and puts it on canvas, not as it was recorded in his sketch , but adding his own personal touches. This is exactly what Adams did. He composed the image when he took the picture. In the dark room he lightens and darkens areas of the image, blurres areas, and shifts colors, adding his own personal touches to make the picture a work of art. Adams was a photographer when took a picture but he was an artist in the darkroom producing a real work of art.

Even without a darkroom, a photographer can be an artist if he is able to compose the picture; that is, capture the right subject, background, and foreground with the right lighting to create a pleasing image. Adams did all this plus manipulated the images in the darkroom to become great works of art. Today prints cell at auction for as much 12 million dollars.


Forgetting about the darkroom or Photoshop, the real art in photography is finding the right subject with right lighting and composing it to produce a picture that is pleasing to the eye.

 

[Magnus]

Explain it this way. An artist takes a picture with a camera, or a a sketch composing the image. He takes it to his studio and puts it on canvas, not as it was recorded in his sketch , but adding his own personal touches. This is exactly what Adams did. He composed the image when he took the picture. In the dark room he lightens and darkens areas of the image, blurres areas, and shifts colors, adding his own personal touches to make the picture a work of art. Adams was a photographer when took a picture but he was an artist in the darkroom producing a real work of art.

Even without a darkroom, a photographer can be an artist if he is able to compose the picture; that is, capture the right subject, background, and foreground with the right lighting to create a pleasing image. Adams did all this plus manipulated the images in the darkroom to become great works of art. Today prints cell at auction for as much 12 million dollars.


Forgetting about the darkroom or Photoshop, the real art in photography is finding the right subject with right lighting and composing it to produce a picture that is pleasing to the eye.

I agree. Composition is key. That is where the real art comes in. Technique and mastery of the camera take you only so far.

And I have told him that and more. We are both amateur photographers and this is an ongoing debate.

 

[Flopper]

I agree. Composition is key. That is where the real art comes in. Technique and mastery of the camera take you only so far.

And I have told him that and more. We are both amateur photographers and this is an ongoing debate.

When first learning to compose pictures, I was told to use B&W as color is a distraction in learning composition. Today many digital cameras have monochrome mode which is very helpful. You should think in terms of contrast, the difference between the light and dark tones in the scene. One of the most important things you can do to find great black and white images is to train your eye to look for shadows, patterns, textures, and lines. With color everything is beautiful and it can be very distracting in composing a picture.

 

[Flopper]

I agree. Composition is key. That is where the real art comes in. Technique and mastery of the camera take you only so far.

And I have told him that and more. We are both amateur photographers and this is an ongoing debate.

Ansel Adams said to a friend, "All I need is a pinhole camera", which is the simplest of all cameras. It is just a light tight box with a pinhole on one side. Light and images come thru the hole and focuses on the opposite side upside down. A piece of film is place where the image forms. The film is exposed manually removing a cap that covers the pinhole. Here are some pictures Adams shot using a pinhole camera.

Adams started with a Brownie Box camera when he was 12 but graduated to a 8x10 Graflex which used single sheet film. This is the camera that he shot his earlier pictures of Yosemite. With tripod, it weighted about 15 or 20 lbs and he carried it on his week long hikes through Yosemite. In the1940s he changed to a Hasselblad single lens reflex roll film camera that only weighed a bit over a pound.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

He is THE master of lighting and contrast.

 

[Flopper]

He is THE master of lighting and contrast.

In today's world of digital photography where pictures can be shot at a rate of 10 per second and thousands of pictures can be stored on one memory card, the laws of probably are in favor of the photographer getting at few really good pictures. However, the true masterpieces in photography come from the eye and mind of the photographer.

Ansel Adams preferred B/W over color because he wanted complete control of the picture from the press of the shutter till the finish print was framed. That was not possible during his life. If the digital cameras we have today and tools like Photoshop were available, I suspect he certainly would have used them and would have produced many masterpieces' in color and B&W. However, even with all the limitations of color photography in those days, he products a number of great pictures between 1940 and and 1970.

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