Why Did I Choose Ansel Adams

For my iconic photographer, I chose Ansel Adams. I chose him for a variety of reasons but the major reason was because he photographed many landscapes. His photography caught my eye since I enjoy capturing photos of nature, something he did. Ansel Adams was born on April 22, 1984, in San Francisco, California. He was not only an American photographer but an environmentalist as well. This could also explain why he was known to capture the landscape in the majority of his photos. He was especially known to capture the American west, specifically the Yosemite National Park. However, Ansel Adams was not always interesting photography growing up. He was interested in the piano and played it for most of his life before he transitioned to photography and never looked back. Around the
1920’s was when Ansel Adams began to become a serious photographer.
He produced his first portfolio in 1927, with the help and inspiration of art connected businessman, Albert Bender. Ansel first portfolio included some of his famous pieces of work such as the Face of half Dome, and Monolith. He took the photos using a Korona view camera which involved using a dark red filter and glass plates. Adams also first used “previsualization” in this portfolio as well. This technique involved calculating the effect of the photography before taking it. Adams then counited to use “previsualization,” thought his photography career. By this time Adams had obtained a certain style of photography that involved black and white photos of nature specifically landscape shots and close ups. In 1927, Adams met Edward Weston a fellow photographer who was very influential to him. Together in
1932, they formed the famous group f/64, which brought attention to the west coast style of photography. After they formed the group f/64, Adams photography career took off as he was presented with a one-man show at the DeYoung Museum. After this exhibition, Adams career and style started to solidify, as he became known for his intimate nature style. This style involved close up photos of the natural world, ranging from photos of flowers blooming, to gaps in-between rocks. Adams then ventured to New Mexico with nature expert Mary Austin in 1940. After this trip, Adams fell in love with the American Southwest, he greatly enjoyed the landscape and nature New Mexico had offered him. He later created a series of photographs from the Taos Indian Pueblo. Where you can observe his most famous style of photography know as straight photography. Which involved taking a photo in sharp focus in an attempt to depict a specific scene or subject. He used this style a lot while taking his black and white landscape photos. This can be seen especially in his most famous image from the trip to New Mexico called Moonrise Over Hernendez. This photo was so intriguing because of the exposure and highlights it was put in the Museum of Modern Art in 1944. Towards the end of Adams career, he contracted with the Department of the interior to create photographs of famous national parks. During this duration, he created several other famous negatives such as The Tetons and the Snake River. However, because of his contract with the government at the time, they took hold of that work.
Overall, Ansel Adams was an extremity influential photographer that created marvelous pieces of artwork. He was able to do this through his unique style that involved highlighting nature through the use of landscape and close upshots. His work can let the observe travel to the American West without even being there. Although the majority of his work involved using black and white photographs he was still able to capture the beauty of nature. Something many photographers cannot do today with the assistance of color and powerful cameras.