Ansel Adams Photography

I believe everyone remembers seeing their first Ansel Adams images. WOW!!! is the usual response that I’ve heard, and said many times. Picking a favorite from Ansel Adams photography is like picking a favorite child. A nearly impossible task for me, I have to say it’s the first image I ever saw of his.

The image is here. “Monolith, The Face of Half Dome.” I recall the first time I saw it. It wasn’t so much the photography aspect that grabbed my attention. But the thoughts of climbing the face. As I viewed it many more times, I began to see the beauty in the composition, as well, the tonality of the black and white. At the quick glance, it looks like a tree trunk.  




People today may not remember the name of Ansel Adams. His black and white photographs and calendars depicting the west coast of America in the table books of offices even today prove that he was a photographer par excellence. His beautiful and iconic photographs of the US landscape helped establish photography as a form of fine art. He was a not only a father figure in natural photography but also an environmentalist. He loved nature right from his early childhood and this love became an inspiration to take up photography.

It was in 1916 that Adams first visited Yosemite and he fell in love with the natural beauty of the valley. He started his journey as a photographer, transfixed by the mesmerizing beauty of Yosemite. He would carry all the photography gear on a mule up to the mountains to be able to capture the glory of nature. Adams worked hard as an environmentalist, using his own work to promote preservation of the wilderness. Early photographs taken by Adams were sold to Best’s Studio situated in Yosemite Valley. Adams married the daughter of the owner of this studio and together the couple operated the studio till 1971. Today this studio is known as Ansel Adams Gallery.

Reputation of Ansel Adams as a nature photographer grew rapidly and his portfolios became a grand success. He moved on to close-ups of nature and took some exceptional photos of mountains as well as factories. He then shifted to New Mexico.

Adams died at the ripe old age of 82 but his photographs still inspire photographers and common people alike