Rural Landscapes
Ansel Adams
Who is he ?
Ansel Easton Adams, born on February 20, 1902, and passing away on April 22, 1984, was a prominent American photographer and environmentalist celebrated for his stunning black-and-white photographs of the American West. He played a key role in establishing Group f/64, a collective of photographers who promoted “pure” photography, emphasizing sharp focus and a full range of tones in their work. Along with Fred Archer, he created the Zone System, a technique that helps photographers achieve their desired final print by understanding how exposure, negative development, and printing choices affect the tonal range of an image.
Adams early life
Adams was born in the Fillmore District of San Francisco as the only child of Charles Hitchcock Adams and Olive Bray. He got his name from his uncle, Ansel Easton. His mom’s family originally came from Baltimore, where his grandfather had a successful freight-hauling business but lost a lot of money in failed mining and real estate investments in Nevada. The Adams family has roots in New England, having moved from northern Ireland in the early 1800s. His grandfather started a very successful lumber business that his dad later took over. However, as he grew older, Adams criticized the lumber industry for its role in destroying many of the redwood forests.
What inspired him?
Adams made his first trip to Yosemite National Park in 1916 with his family. He described his initial sight of the valley as an overwhelming experience, saying, “the splendor of Yosemite burst upon us and it was glorious…. One wonder after another descended upon us…. There was light everywhere…. A new era began for me.” During this visit, his father gifted him his first camera, an Eastman Kodak Brownie box camera, and he eagerly took his first photos with great excitement. The following year, he returned to Yosemite alone, equipped with better cameras and a tripod. In the winters of 1917 and 1918, he honed his darkroom skills while working part-time for a photography finishing company in San Francisco.
The Sierra club
The Sierra Club is a U.S.-based environmental group that has branches in every state, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. Established in 1892 in San Francisco by conservationist John Muir, it emerged from the progressive movement and became one of the earliest major organizations focused on environmental preservation globally. The club advocates for sustainable energy policies and works to combat global warming, while also opposing coal, hydropower, and nuclear energy. In elections, it typically supports liberal and progressive candidates.
1927
In 1927, Adams teamed up with Albert M. Bender, a wealthy insurance executive and supporter of the arts from San Francisco. Bender played a crucial role in helping Adams create his first portfolio in a new artistic style, titled Parmelian Prints of the High Sierras. This collection featured his iconic photograph Monolith, the Face of Half Dome, captured using his Korona view camera with glass plates and a dark red filter to enhance the tonal contrasts. During that trip, Adams had only one plate remaining, and he imagined the effect of a darkened sky before using his last shot. He later reflected, “I was able to capture an image that represented not just how the subject looked, but how it felt to me and how it would appear in the final print.” One biographer describes Monolith as Adams’s most important photograph, noting that its “extreme manipulation of tonal values” marked a significant shift from earlier photography. Adams’s idea of visualization, which he first articulated in writing in 1934, became a fundamental aspect of his photographic approach.
Other work
Between 1929 and 1942, Adams’s artistic style evolved significantly, and he gained recognition in the art world. The 1930s were especially innovative and fruitful for him. He broadened the techniques he used, focusing on intricate close-ups as well as grand landscapes, ranging from mountains to industrial sites. Bender introduced Adams to Taos, New Mexico, where he formed friendships with notable figures like poet Robinson Jeffers, artists John Marin and Georgia O’Keeffe, and photographer Paul Strand. His lively personality and impressive piano skills made him a favourite among his fellow artists. In 1930, he published his first book, Taos Pueblo, which featured text by writer Mary Hunter Austin.
Kings Canyon
Ansel Adams is recognized as one of the most important conservationists in America. While his stunning photographs played a key role in persuading people to safeguard the country’s natural wonders, he didn’t just rely on his images to make an impact. Adams actively campaigned for conservation initiatives. One of his greatest achievements was helping to establish Kings Canyon National Park. Kings Canyon, shaped by glaciers in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, is located right next to the famous Sequoia National Park, which was created in the 1890s to protect the massive redwoods from being cut down. Despite its breath-taking scenery and close location to Sequoia, Kings Canyon was still unprotected until the 1930s. By 1936, the future of this natural marvel was at risk.
His presidential medal
He eventually got a contract with the United States Department of the Interior to take pictures of national parks. Because of his efforts and dedication to promoting these parks, which contributed to the growth of the National Park system, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980.
Visualisation in photography
Visualization is all about imagining a scene and figuring out the best shot before actually taking the picture. As Ansel Adams often mentioned, it happens in what he called the ‘mind’s eye.’ This process means looking at a subject and instinctively picking out the key features that you want to focus on and showcase in your photo.
The zone system
The Zone System uses numbers from 0 to 10 to represent different levels of brightness. In this system, 0 stands for black, 5 is middle grey, and 10 is pure white. These brightness levels are referred to as zones. To help people easily tell these zones apart from other numbers, Adams and Archer chose to use Roman numerals instead of regular Arabic ones.
Image Analysis
Technical – The lighting in this photo is natural daylight with no artificial light. The aperture was high, something like f/22 as its a landscape photo with almost everything in focus. The shutter speed was likely to be something like 5 seconds, this is to counteract the high f stop. The ISO was likely 100 or 200 to keep the amount of noise down.
Visual – There is a lot of tone within this photo and likely all the numbers on the zone system have been used in this photograph. The mountains in the background create a sense of depth and add some texture to the image, especially with the snow on them. The mountains also create a good, almost symmetrical pattern as they run all the way across the image.
Contextual – “This is one of his most critically acclaimed works, exemplifying Adams’ ability to capture the rich nuance of the environment around him,” Mackay says. The picture was captured for the national parks project, started by the Department of the Interior.
Conceptual – The department had to pull back on funding when the US joined World War Two. However, Adams was motivated by the stunning beauty of the parks and a strong wish to raise awareness about their protection. In 1946 and 1948, he managed to secure two Guggenheim Foundation grants, which allowed him to keep photographing national parks all over the country.
Photoshoot plan
Where – Jersey- around the coast and sea.
What – The cliffs or sea near the lighthouse.
Who – There will be no one in my photos.
When – Late afternoon to sunset.
Contact sheet
Selection process
My best photos
Basic editing
I have done some general edits to improve my images
My best photos edited
Black and white
I edited my photos into black and white to closer relate them to Ansel Adams.
Composition Experiments
My favourite
Art steps
