Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams is probably the best well-known black and white photographer of his time. He is probably most known for his photographs of the Yosemite Valley and the Sierra Nevada which is a 400 mile long, 10-14000 foot high mountain range which includes the Yosemite, Sequoia, Mt. Rainier, and Glacier National Parks. In the beginning of his career he wavered between music and photography. It wasn’t until viewing the work of Paul Strand that Adams decided on photography. Adams became interested in photography when his Aunt gave him a copy of “In the Heart of the Sierras”. He was able to pursue that interest when his parents took him on a family vacation to Yosemite National Park and gave him a camera as a present.

During his photography career, Adams did a lot of things besides taking photographs. He formed the “f/64” group which was dedicated to the concept of photography that looked like photography. He was sick and tired of people using photography as an imitation of other art forms. He also published a book called the “Yosemite and the Range of Light” and received numerous awards for his achievements.

Ansel Adams is my absolute favorite photographer. I first saw his work in my high school photography class. I was stuck on finding an idea to do my next project about and she handed me a book of his photographs. I immediately was fascinated by all the images. I think what caught my eye the most was the details in the photographs. Adams uses different levels of contrast to emphasis his images. When I look at photographs, I like to see strong contrast in some places because it catches the viewer’s eye and makes them stop and look closer. In Adams photograph’s he does a great job at catching my attention and making my interested in what’s really happening in each of his photographs which is why Ansel Adams is my favorite photographer.

http://www.masters-of-fine-art-photography.com/02/artphotogallery