This document provides information about the American photographer Ansel Adams (1902-1984), known for his black and white landscape photographs of the American West. It discusses Adams' use of large format cameras to capture high resolution images, his development of prints himself, and the popularity of his work in books and posters. It also examines some of Adams' most famous photographs, his influences including Alfred Stieglitz and Robert Dawson, his compositional style of including both near and far elements, and strengths in capturing interesting details through contrast and shadows.

1. Unit 57: Photography and P hotographic Practice
Research of other photographers work
Ansel Adams.

2. Ansel Adams.
Ansel Adams was born February 20th 1902
and died on the 22nd of April 1984. He was
born in San Francisco, California, United
States. He’s best known for his black and
white photographs. Adams used large-
format cameras despite their size , set up
time and film cost. He did this as he wanted
the sharpest possible images and the high
resolution ensured this. He developed the
images himself. Adams photographs went
on to be reproduced on calendars, in books
and on posters which made his photographs
even more known. He obviously took his
pictures In black and white as there was no
colour photography invented then. In the
1950’s he worked for a magazine and
published what was thought to be serious
journal photographs.

3. His work.
• This image was made in 1962 and • This picture is called Golden Gate Before
published in 1963. The Bridge.
After having a look at his picture I can clearly see that he preferred to take pictures of places
rather than people. His pictures aren’t emotional and I don’t really think they have any kind of
emotional theme to them. They’re just urban landscapes.

4. Ansel Adams most famous pictures.
Yosemite Valley, Thunderstorm.
• This image was made in 1945 and is one of
The Yosemite Valley, Ansel Adams most famous picture.
Thunderstorm images

5. Influences.
• Alfred Stieglitz
Ansel Adams was strongly influenced by Alfred Stieglitz who he met in 1933. As you
can see in the image above you can see where Adams has took his inspiration from.
Both Ansel Adams and Alfred Stieglitz pictures are both quite gloomy looking. I like
the gloominess of the above picture as it adds a nice effect. As this picture was
obviously was captured while it was snowing it gives the picture a misty effect and
looks sketchy, almost like it could have been drawn.

6. Ro be rt Dawso n.
Influences.
• After to moving to Carmel, California in 1960, Ansel Adams helped to found
the Friends of Photography. The third exhibition shown pictures by Robert
Dawson. As you can see his picture above is quite similar to the type of pictures
Ansel Adams took. After researching Robert Dawson I noticed that like Ansel
Adams pictures, his picture also include misty backgrounds, both of their
pictures go from sharp to soft and misty.

7. Composition
• Ansel Adams himself didn’t believe
there was a wrong or right composition.
A direct quote he said "The so-called
rules of photographic composition are,
in my opinion, invalid, irrelevant and
immaterial“, states this. He didn’t like
to follow rules when it came to his
photography.
• I notice a pattern emerging on every
one of his pictures I look at. He takes
pictures of views, close to the camera is This picture uses the rule of thirds as the lake
quite simple things such as a lake and and mountains aren’t in the centre of the
then further away from the camera it image and come In at an angle. The light
shows the sky and things like from the sky going onto the mountains look
mountains mixed together. I like how really good as it adds different contrasts of
he’s done this and stuck with it in other colour as the mountains a bit further along are
shots too. darker so it goes from dark to light.

8. • I really like Ansel Adams work as he
seems to be able to make them all
extremely interesting as I found his Stre ng ths & We akne sse s
photographs never really focus on just
one object, there are always lots of little
interesting things surrounding. You
notice one thing and then soon notice
another. For example in the picture to
the side I don’t know whether he
wanted the audience to focus on a
certain thing like the leaf with the circle
shadows around it or find everything a
main part of the picture.
This is my favourite image of his
because of all the little details
included in the photograph. I
also really like the shadow on it.
It actually looks quite abstract as
you can’t make out where the
pattern starts or finishes. I like
all the different shapes used, it’s
different.