Ansel Adams was not only a brilliant photographer, he was also a environmentalist. When he was five years old, a year after the great earthquake and fire that broke Adams’s nose scaring him for life, his family lost there fortune. His mother, Olive Bray, did not take this well and spent most of her time fretting and brooding that her husband was unable to restore there fortune. This cased Adams’s to have some mixed feelings towards his mother. On the other hand his father, Charles Adams, was always very supportive and encouraging of his sons choices. Adams’s was home schooled most of his life and during that time was when he discovered his love for nature, that would eventually be the inspiration and/or subject his photography. His life was, in his words “colored and modulated by the great earth gesture”
The first photograph shown above was taken by Adams’s in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. The way the fallen trees are positioned at the bottom of the photo makes them the main focus of the photograph. They’re the first thing you see. The way they are enter twined makes them appear almost as if they are just one big tree. When you look at the top half of the photograph you see a Mountain on the top right covered in snow. Were as on the top left you see a Deep forest filled with trees. The way this photograph is formed its like three different environments are all coming together. Theres the dead trees, dry and dyeing , the snowy mountains, cold and secluded, and then finally the dark and lively forest altogether created a mix of emotions making it feel welcoming and frighting all at the same time. At first glance this photograph seems nothing more then a lake, but when you take a closer look you can see all the different beautiful nature that surounds it.
The second photograph shown above was taken by Adams’s in Glacier National Park, Montana. When looking at this photograph the thing you notice most is the multiple shades of black. Adams’s always made sure that his photographs contained a minimum of five different shades of black. One thing that makes this photo so beautiful and intriguing is the reflection of the sky in the water. Although the reflection isn’t an exact mirror image that is what actually makes it so much more interesting. Its as if its two separate photographs have been blended together.
The third photograph shown above was taken by Adams’s in Yosemite. When you first look at this photograph it looks as if the tree in the front centre has burst from the ground and it is as if the snow is flying off the branches. This photograph is so interesting because no matter how many times you look at it you noticed something new about it. When looking at this photograph it gives you the sense of freedom and renewal. The way the light reflects of the Crystal clean snow, and how the tree grows every which way, makes you feel as though you can do anything. The reason the tree stands out so much is because of the way the dark mountain runs behind the tree giving it a dark background to stand out agains. Were as when looking at the trees more to the left they have a background that is closer to there color so they do not stand out as much in comparison.
Ansel Adams was one of the most talented photographers of his time. With out his work the art world would not have been the same. The three photographs shown above are just a small piece of the beautiful work he completed in his life.
The reason I chose to use this photograph is because I feel that it is a good representation of the kind of work that Ansel Adams's did. The way that it includes landscape and five shades of black like almost all of Adams's photographs did.
For more information on Ansel adams work and life go to the following link: Ansel Adams continued
