1. Unit 57: Photography and
Photographic Practice
Research of other photographers
work

2. 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”.

3. 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.
‘Tetons and the Snake River’
‘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.

4. 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
‘Winter Sunrise, Lone Pine’ sharpness to this photograph.
‘Leaf, Glacier Bay National Monument’ ‘Clearing Storm, Sonoma County Hills’ ‘Northern California Coast
Redwoods’

5. 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 ‘Stream, Sea, Clouds, Rodeo Beach’
Ansel Adams.

6. We can see that approximately 80% of the A quote once said by the man himself Ansel
photo is taken up by water, and the sky is a Adams’ reads ‘You don’t take a photograph,
very little percentage but explains so much. you make it’. S o in this sense, he was a
Everything is so textured which have been patient but risk-taking photographer, and
created just from their natural flow, Adams’ the photos he captured were evidence of his
hadn't done anything for the water to look risk in taking the photo at the right time.
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.

7. Ansel Adams – Techniques
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.

8. Strengths and Weaknesses
I really like Ansel Adams work, and I'm glad I personally don’t feel any weaknesses
I've discovered it, as I think it could have an towards Ansel Adams as I am in awe of his
influence in some of the work I do in work. I like things being in black and
photography. I like his attention to detail white so if anything it has encouraged me
and the photos where he has took a chance to want to produce these types of
not knowing which way something is going photographs of nature like he has, just not
to go. He took chances and didn’t see as extreme.
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.