Ansel Adams was an American photographer known for his landscape and nature photography. He used a large format camera and fine focusing to capture detailed shots. The purpose of his photos was to sell them as art. Many compared nature to man-made objects. His photos seem to portray nature as complex, unpredictable, and more beautiful than anything created by humans. Nature and its dominance over human creations is a theme across many of his photos.

1. Ansel Adams
Ansel Easton Adams (February 20,
1902 – April 22, 1984) was an
American photographer who was
known for his landscape/nature
photography. He was very interested
in nature and this is shown in his
photos.
His photos usually have very fine
focusing and he uses a large format
camera.
Purpose
The purpose of his photos was to sell
as art. Many of his photos compare
nature with man made things.
My interpretation of his photo
meanings are nature going against
man made things. He may have
religious meanings in some of his
photos, for example heaven and the
earth.

2. Image Analysis
This photo is of the roots of a large tree, the picture would have used a
black and white film with a very sharp focus. The camera would have
been put on top of a tripod to keep the camera steady, with the camera
facing down slightly towards the roots. Long aperture and possibly long
exposure time could have been used to make the picture look sharper
under natural light.
Interpretation of meaning
The meaning which could come from this photo is that nature can be
very complex and abstract, the shapes which occur naturally in the roots
of a tree are unpredictable and grow in ways that humans may not be
able to comprehend. It could also be said that modern life has shaped
itself on nature from years before. (The tree roots look similar to
animals such as snakes or squids)
Image Analysis
In this photo of a lake going through the mountains and the trees the
camera would have used a black and white film for the picture and
most probably had a small aperture with a long depth of field, this is
to pick up the detail in the distance but also would have had fast
shutter speed to capture everything in detail and prevent the ripples
in the water looking blurry.
Interpretation of meaning
The meaning which perhaps is being portrayed in this photo is that
nature is dominant over man made objects. The mountains which
tower above everything else are naturally occurring objects as well as
the river and trees. It could be said that these objects are much more
beautiful and complex than anything made by man and therefore it
should be appreciated more than it actually is.

3. Image Analysis
Again the camera used to take this photo would have
had a black and white film and small aperture with a
long depth of field, this would be to capture all the
small details in the photo clearly as well as capturing
the overall image in a sharp and clear picture.
Interpretation of meaning
I feel that there is a very strong theme of life and
death in this photo, the meaning which could be
getting carried across in the picture is life and how
small it is compared to the rest of the earth. The small
cemetery in the bottom right of the picture could
possibly represent human life and the rest of the
photo around the cemetery could represent the
universe and how it is never ending.