Ansel Adams born in 1902 was an American landscape photographer. Adams was a rebellious child and was pulled from school at age 12 and before finding his passion for photography in 1927, Ansel was a successful pianist and musician. Ansel Adams took photos all through he 1920s where he was a part of the Sierra Club, An organisation who’s mission is “to explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; To practice and promote the responsible use of the earth’s ecosystems and resources; To educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives.”
Adams believed in “true photography” where he would use the highest resolution available and full tonal range and assisted in founding the group f/64 in 1932 in California. The group also believed in Ansel’s’ mindset surrounding photography and took images of the American landscape including mountains and lakes. Ansel Adams also partnered with Fred Archer created “The Zone System” a way of representing the different tonal gradient in a black and white picture. The Zone System is still used today
The popularity of Adams work has only increased since his death in 1984.
Technical
The lighting is natural and the type of camera used was a Large Format Camera so Ansel would’ve had to use a tripod to steady it as he would’ve needed to have a longer shutter speed to capture the landscape in such high resolution. Large Format photography consists of images within the 9 cm × 12 cm (3.5 in × 4.7 in) range or bigger. The view finder is large and Ansel would’ve needed a portable dark room as well as multiple films per image however in modern times it is possible to make large format cameras digital.
Ansel Adams sets his contrast high to dramatize the images.
Visual
Though coloured photography was available to Adams it didn’t become common until the 1960’s and would’ve been a time consuming and difficult process therefore all of his images were in black and white. There was a range of tones within Adams work as he was good at using The Zone Method himself.
This image also used leading lines to draw the eye to the dramatic sight if the mountain and add depth to the image giving it a 3D concept.
Contextual
This image was taken in the Grand Tenton National Park in Wyoming, America and was of the Tetons and the Snake River and was taken in 1942 so Ansel Adams would’ve had around 20 years experience while taking this.
Conceptual
I believe the idea behind this is to showcase the beauty of the landscapes to the American public to encourage them to want to preserve the nature through national parks ect.
Technical
The type of lighting in this piece of the peaks of the Stark mountains ios natural daylight as it was taken outdoors. The image was again taken on a Large format camera and not over or under saturated. The image is in black and white as colour photography was expensive to produce and more complicated to create.
Visual
There was many tones captured with it being black and white and may unusual shapes with natural shadows and leading lines throughout creating an interesting texture and ongoing pattern. The leading lines also add more depth of field to the image with the effect of spacious surroundings. Tones within photography was something Adams was an expert in so he knew when looking at a landscape what would make good subjects demonstrated in this image.
Contextual
Ansel had to create interesting visuals without the use of technology as it was not invented at the time and instead had to look at different angles and natural shapes to create visual allure.
Conceptual
Adams tried to capture the natural state and preserve it through photography. He worked with and in the Sierra club to create awareness and protect the national parks of America.
My responses to Ansel Adams
I tried to capture a range of tones in my images as he was so well known for. As i was photographing I still looked for vibrant scenery as colour can represent tone in black and white and he would’ve had to look for a range of light and colours when looking for things to photograph. I tried to find wide and broad landscapes to photograph the same sort he would however I do not live in america and there is no mountains so I looked for hills and sea scapes. I also tried to use rule of thirds and leading lines which are commonly found in his work.
