Researching - Ansel Adams...

Ansel Adams is a photographer who captured some of the most beautiful, inspiring and Grand pictures of the American Landscapes, and because of his art and his personal interest, helped to protect and preserve it.

Adams visited the Yosemite National Park in 1916 and fell in love with it, taking pictures on his first camera. He went back each summer working at various jobs and began to perfect his own style of photography. He was an acknowleged wilderness photographer by the age of 34 and was also brilliant in the Dark Room. He developed a set of guidelines for planning the exposure and development of negatives and this he called the "Zone System". This allowed him to control the contrast of light and dark.

He founded the department of photgraphy at The Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1936, he petitioned congress to create a National Park in Kings River Canyon in California and his photographs of this area helped to convince the lawmakers to agree and the Kings River Canyon was made a National Park in 1940.


He was comissioned to produce a series of photos of the National Park System for the department of Interior Museum and produced 225 prints, now kept in the National Archives in Washington. The second World War stopped the project but some of these photographs were reproduced from negatives and these are of particular interest to me.

Ansel Adams 'Road'

I particularly like this one as I'm obsessed with the cloudscape while capturing images. I also like roads that lead to "somewhere". It leaves a lot to the imagination. I am fond of images that let you think and make up your own conclusions. I like the bluntness on the title ; he hasn't tried to complicate matters, he simply states the obvious and leaves the rest up to the viewer. The composition is positioned nicely, as it seems to be rather symmetrical.To me the distance stands out the most in this picture, it just goes on and on and on...

Branches in Snow - Ansel Adams

This picture is a close up of thin pine branches at the base of a tree, weighed down by snow. It is a balck and white photo taken round about 1932. It is part of the Yosemite Special Edition Photographs. This particular picture has been used in books and as prints. The reason I like this photo is that it veers away from the usual photos of vast landscapes that I normally like. Although it is a close up, I feel that there is plenty to see as it is very detailed. Looking at it long enough you could almost imagine it as a landscape. It provides a contrast with the other photographs that I have chosen for my research. I like the shape and form of the pine needles and the texture contrast.

His photgraphs are in black and white and far from simplifying the scenery, it adds depth and awe. The scenes are powerful and strong and have an emotional pull on the viewer. Great effect is made of the play of light shadow and it brings to mind how small mankind is when compared to the nature around us.


I would like to try and emulate his style but with the British countryside which is a softer and less harsh enviroment but which still has its mysterious and dramatic side.