Ansel Adams essay

Ansel Easton Adams, February 20th 1902 - April 22nd 1984. Ansel Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist who specialised in black and white photography, being best known for his landscape images of the 'American West'. In his 60 year career he has created some inspiring and influential images that have made an impact on a large number of people.

Ansel Adams has influenced me a lot as my talents in photography have grown, his work is so beautiful and i could look at his work all day. The use of black and white constantly creates an eere effect to his images but in a very atmospheric interesting way. The way he has used film creates a slight grainy effect to some of his images which works in partnership with the black and white to create a striking photograph. All of these landscape photos from the American West are taken on a large format camera therefor there suited to be very big bold photos, this is an effect i really love when an image is so strong!

This is one of my favourite images taken by Ansel Adams. I love the simplicity of the tree and rocks but put together creates a really beautiful image. The tree is where your eyes are immediatly drawn to but then you see the huge empty mass of space behind it, this really puts you in the image and makes you feel like your there stood taking the photo. It makes you want to stand on the rocks and see whats behind them! I also feel that the shadow of the tree on the rocks and ground creates a whole other image within this image. The black and white is quite light and not heavily contrasted which really makes the shadow stand out, this wouldnt of been as noticable if the brightness and contrast had been edited a lot.

As we all know Ansel Adams is known for his landscape photography, his work influenced me into wanting to take more images of landscapes and specialise in this more. His work shows how he has travelled around to get the best images he can from the best countries, cities, towns etc. His work reminds me slightly of documentary images as i can imagine them being on a t.v programme such as 'Planet Earth' showing the amazing places in the world that a lot of people probably wont get the opportunity to visit. Because he was an environmentalist it was inevitable that his work would be heavily focused on everything to do with the environment but he has captured unbelievable beautiful landscapes and scenes.

This image here for example is what i would count as a sight that not many people would get the opportunity to see. As he was stood there he so professionally captured the right moment when the waves came crashing over the rocks creating a foamy bath. The contrast of the white bubbles and waves against the dark black rocks works really well as it makes the bubbles stand out. The mist behind has been perfectly captured too, that is something that really makes this image what it is as thats the detailed effect waves make when they crash against something. Not something thats always seen! As i look at this photo i can feel the mist moisture on my face and i can hear the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks, this is something i feel is so important in an image as it makes you feel like your there. Its something i cant explain when i look at his images they just take my breath away, im so passionate about his work.

This is an image i have just come across and i thought it was fantastic! The turtle is happily swimming along and Ansel has managed to capture this just right with the arms both mirroring eachother as it effortlessly glides along. It's interesting to see a difference in his work, to see something slightly different to landscapes. Although he has still got a landscape effect in this image with the empty space of sea behind the turtle making the turtle really stand out especially the peircing black eyes. The eyes are the first thing your eyes are drawn too, it looks like he's swimming towards the camera to have a good look at what it is. 

Although Ansel Adams influences me a lot and i love to look at his work, i havent done that many landscape images myself. I have an open mind about what i photograph for each assignment and i havent specialised in anything yet. I have similarly used film and black and white like him and i have photographed nature in different shapes and forms. His work too me is more inspiring and such a beauty to look at, it makes me smile when im down as it makes me feel like im there in the photograph. This is the main reason why i find his work so amazing as i feel like im there when im looking at the photos, i can feel everything that i can see. Fantastic photographer!