Unit 57: Photography and Photographic Practice

Research of other photographers work

Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams is an American photographer and environmentalist. He was born on February 20th 1902 and died on April 22nd 1984. Adams was best known for black and white photography, as it was back in the day. When he was 14 years old, he was given his first camera by his father which was a Kodak Brownie box camera, it was at Yosemite National park that he took his first ever photographs and became instantly inspired by it. He wrote down what he thought of his first visit there and said “the splendor of Yosemite burst upon us and it was glorious”.

‘Tetons and the Snake River’

Ansel Adams took this photograph in 1942, and is arguably known as one of his most notorious and popular images of the American Western Landscapes. Through a small aperture setting there is so much detail within the photograph such as the deep tonal variation that has been created. This is Teton Mountain portrayed at its best, through the use of Adams’ gradation chart of black and white tones. The water is a crisp light grey and you really understand how Adams used precision in photography. ‘Oak Tree, Sunset City’

A 1932 photograph by Ansel Adams. In this photo we see delicate lines that have been created in this landscape. The fade between the land and the sky is just the right gradient for us to see the true beauty of this oak tree. To the eye, the tree trunk and branches stand out the most, which compliment the wispy soft leaves that are hanging of the branches. The gradients are dark, which gives it an eerie feeling and the sensitivity shows through. These types of shots he uses to inspire protection against the environment.

‘Winter Sunrise, Lone Pine’

The way that Ansel captured these spectacular images was that he always waited patiently for the right moment. We can see in this photo that the sky and land are dark and shady, and the mountains with the snow on are crispy white. On part of the land we can see a little spread of light and in thi8s light we can see a horse. This is how Adams’ close detail and patience is applied in his work, that he waited for the exact moment that the light hit the land. It looks very elegant and the shapes of the mountains really and sharpness to this photograph.

‘Leaf, Glacier Bay National Monument’

‘Clearing Storm, Sonoma County Hills’

‘Northern California Coast Redwoods’

‘Stream, Sea, Clouds, Rodeo Beach’

This is one of Ansel Adams’ great photos of the sea and water. In this photo we see a running stream of water flowing in a beautiful shape, like the land has formed that way for the water to flow. It spreads out in the sea and we see this towards the top. The way the light and darkness has been captured is very interesting, the clouds look perfect, they are fluffy yet have a certain sense of sharpness. They add a lot of character to the photograph and we can see the perfectly straight edges line which separates them from the sea. Every tiny detail is mesmerising, and it sticks in your mind, there's so many things going on and you wouldn’t think it. The stream flows into the sea, the sea blends in separately to the clouds and the land surrounding the stream really completes the picture. This was taken by Ansel in 1962. The thing that makes this photo so great is that the water is unpredictable, and this is how he captured it which makes it even better, it could have gone any way, the water could have been still. This was all water experimentation for Ansel Adams.

We can see that approximately 80% of the photo is taken up by water, and the sky is a very little percentage but explains so much. Everything is so textured which have been created just from their natural flow, Adams’ hadn't done anything for the water to look the way it did or for there to be a perfect separation between the sky and sea. It all happened naturally, and the it all depended on luck and the time and place. The fact it is in black and white make it even more interesting to look at, although we get an image in our mind of how it would have in colour, the same story is still told through photograph because everything is so detailed. Ansel could only use black and white photography because at this point in time, colour photography wasn’t alive. It’s likely that this photo has been cropped just to have the main focus point on the sea, there could be so many possibilities.

A quote once said by the man himself Ansel Adams’ reads ‘You don’t take a photograph, you make it’. S o in this sense, he was a patient but risk-taking photographer, and the photos he captured were evidence of his risk in taking the photo at the right time.

Behind each resulting image that Ansel Adams ever produced was technical, intense beauty, precision and experimentation. These were his main techniques in which he produced amazing photography. Another technique of his was the contrast used in his photos. This was all down to the fact that he could only photograph in black and white, so the use of the dark grey colours against the crisp white contrasted tones really benefitted his work, and as a result created their own story. For example, in Mount Robson from Mount Resplendent, Canadian Rockies (1928), Adams used a telephoto lens to create a stunning close-up image of a mountain that was in fact very far away. He was still young at this point but had learnt so much and gained a lot of experience.

Ansel Adams – Techniques

I really like Ansel Adams work, and I'm glad I've discovered it, as I think it could have an influence in some of the work I do in photography. I like his attention to detail and the photos where he has took a chance not knowing which way something is going to go. He took chances and didn’t see anything as a downside because at the end of it all, it was experience for him and he had learned so much. I like the way contrast played a big part in his work and how photos were developed. I suppose that only being able to create black and white photography was an advantage for Adams and he took the opportunity and produced beautiful, technical detailed work.

Strengths and Weaknesses

I personally don’t feel any weaknesses towards Ansel Adams as I am in awe of his work. I like things being in black and white so if anything it has encouraged me to want to produce these types of photographs of nature like he has, just not as extreme.