Too cool not to share...Ansel Adams

Re: Too cool not to share...

I'm fast becoming one, myself. ; I find myself surprised at how much I love black and white photos. ; I've been processing alot that way lately. ; The thing that amazes me about Ansel Adams is..he wasn't using sliders in Aperture, you know? ; He was lugging that equipment wherever he went and doing it great in camera. ; So inspiring.
 
Re: Too cool not to share...

i've both read his books, and all i could find about ansel, and i completely agree with the modern ps experts that not only would adams be shooting digital if he were alive today, but would be deeply immersed in post process. ansel adams always believed, and frequently publicly stated that the negative was just the starting point for him, that he had a general idea of what he wanted to capture, but that the finished result was done in the darkroom
 
Re: Too cool not to share...

There is a good PBS video on Ansel Adams if you are interested: American Experience: Ansel Adams (2002)
 
Re: Too cool not to share...

Ansel Adams.. yeah... ; His work irritates me.


Believe me, I know the sort of reaction I'm inviting saying that, and my reaction is doubly odd when you consider my obsession with sharpness and detail.

But his pictures are too sharp. ; I once tried to express the uneasiness I felt when looking at his pictures to a photography teacher and she apparently understood. ; That kind of sharpness is unnatural, and at least for me my brain doesn't react well to seeing things in that way. ; I didn't really understand it though, she explained it to me like that and I guess it made sense. ; All I knew was that the more of his pictures I looked at, the less I wanted to look at them.

I've actually been wanting an excuse to say this. ; I kind of feel like I'm living a lie, posting here among other photographers that presumably did not feel the same way. ; It's like... ; Forgive me Daguerre, for I have sinned, I do not find the work of Ansel Adams pleasant to look upon.
 
Re: Too cool not to share...

you are sort of forgiven my son, adams used contrast masterfully, he was the best at burning and dodging.and it's something we are not used to seeing, so maybe your eyes find it hard.
 
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I can understand the feeling. It sounds like the reaction I have when I get eyeglasses with a new prescription for distant vision. Until I get used to them, everything looks too sharp and a bit surreal. Perhaps the difference is that he managed to capture what it really looked like back then, but we are so used to looking thru polluted air that his images look a bit unnatural to us. I have the same reaction when reading about past astronomers and what they were able to see in the night sky without telescopes. I look up into our light polluted sky, and think, yeah, right.

Erich
 
Re: Too cool not to share...

"Dan" said:
But his pictures are too sharp. ;
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That's definitely a valid point. ; I tend to overlook the sharpness while admiring the incredible contrast created by his efforts in the dark room. ;

And I agree with Gary, he definitely would have embraced the digital dark room. ; I can only imagine what he could have done with today's technology.
 
Re: Too cool not to share...

Oh..I LOVE the intensity of his razor sharp photos. ; But I don't think all of his photos are like that. Some have a rather lovely softness to them too. ; Dan..the only way you could be considered living a lie, is if you came here and told us all..yeah, he's awesome, when you don't like him at all. ;) ; Personally, I think you're living your truth..and that's cool with me.

Seriously, I've heard his name over and over and it was always synonomous with black and white photography in my mind..but until recently, I had no idea just how much I would love this guy or black and white photography! ; What it does to bring out light and shadows just really turns me on. ; I could happily cover every wall in my house with his work, and I want to read everything I can about him. ; Thank you for the note on that PBS video, Paul. ; I plan to look for it.

I wonder why some of you say he would embrace the digital darkroom? ; I'm just wondering.

Here's a video for anyone who's interested.

http://www.anseladams.com/content/ansel_info/anseladamsvideos.html
 
"Dan" said:
Ansel Adams.. yeah... ; His work irritates me.

I've actually been wanting an excuse to say this. ; I kind of feel like I'm living a lie, posting here among other photographers that presumably did not feel the same way. ; It's like... ; Forgive me Daguerre, for I have sinned, I do not find the work of Ansel Adams pleasant to look upon.
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I would hardly apologize (even jokingly) as to what your eye finds pleasing. ; This thread reminds me of a quote about Ansel Adams I read not too long ago that I particularly enjoyed. ;

"Given that Ansel Adams was my first and only formal photography teacher, it's probably no surprise that most of my early photographs were large-format sharply-focused black and white pictures of trees, rocks and water. ; The fact is, it took me years to realize that I don't even lead a fine grained life- that while Ansel's world was timeless, monumental, and sharply defined, my own world is quirky, ephemeral and decidedly fuzzy around the edges. ; My ability to reveal that world photographically took a giant leap forward sometime around 1990 when I discovered a little plastic camera called the Holga. ; The Holga had one shutter speed, a fixed aperture and a single element plastic lens that filtered out excessive sharpness so that realism wouldn't get mistaken for reality. ; In other words, it captured the world just the way I saw it." ; -Ted Orland

http://www.tedorland.com/index.html
 
But for b&w landscapes my favorite photographer is Clyde Butcher here in Florida.
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masterful work, if it's the guy that does all that work out in the swamps, i believe that's the name, op had an article last year on his work.
 
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