In Memory of Ansel

[ehughes]

Ansel Adams' images have always amazed me, some say he is over rated as a photographer, some say he was one of the best ever. My view is somewhere in the middle. What are your thoughts?

But if nothing else, when shooting in Yosemite his images are always in the back of my mind.

Ed

http://ehughes.smugmug.com/photos/16688315-M.jpg

http://ehughes.smugmug.com/photos/16688308-L.jpg

http://ehughes.smugmug.com/photos/16687992-L.jpg

[4labs]

Ed these are a great tribute.. I have always apreciated him but to be honest when I see what some of you guys on this site have produced I am thinking he wasn't so great..

[fish]

Nice. thanks ed.

[Angelo]

Excellent shots Ed. Congrats. :thumb

[Cosmic]

Wow! :clap

ish speechless for once

~Heidi~

[Nir]

Beautiful shots Ed!


I think to stay in correct perspective Adams' work should be judged in the correct timeframe. I mean what kind of equipment did he use compared to what's available today?!

[wxwax]

Ed, that waterfall shot is terrific. Nice work!

[Michael Allen]

Nice work, nice tribute. http://dgrin.com/images/smilies/thumb.gif

[Steve Cavigliano]

It's funny you should ask what we think of Ansel. Andy brought a book with lots of his photos in it, last time he visited. He lent it to me and I have to admit, while many of the images were awesome (especially the processing), many others were similar to what people post here. Very good, but nothing amazing. But, every shot I viewed was exposed extremely well and processed darn near perfectly. To me, it seemed like he spent most of his time visualizing the shot and in the darkroom. It almost seems like the time spent on the actual shot was minimal.

Which does make sense. If you see, in your mind's eye, the shot you are after, it makes it so much easier to be able to capture it. Then during processing, you can really make that image look like your vision.

This seems like an awful lot of work....lol Especially, when compared to my method of walking around clueless and pointing-and-shooting? :lol


OK, now stop posting these Yosemite pics Ed. You're going to make us all feel terrible when we don't come home, from our May visit, with results like yours :rofl

J/K and thanks for sharing these gorgeous pics with us,
Steve

[ehughes]

Thanks Everyone for the comments.

I think at the time Ansel was working around Yosemite, considering the equipment that he had. I believe you had to visualize the shot ahead of time. I remember reading something Ansel wrote about hiking up to the base of upper Yosemite falls, he basically took enough equipment and film for 8 to 10 shots. That's all he had to get what he wanted to try and capture that day. Then walk back down the mountain and head to the darkroom to see if he got what he wanted.

Ansel was also a photographer that was more than willing to change an image to what he would have liked to have seen instead of what he actually photographed that day. I think the most famous of his edited shots was "Winter Sunrise from Lone Pine" in the left side of the shot there should be a fairly large LP in the hill made of stones put there by the residents. If you look at a large version of this print you can actually see where the negative or the master print had been painted. So, he was doing quite a bit of post processing of his photographs. In my opinion, that is no different than running your pic through photoshop to get the desired effect.

Does anyone know of other photographers, doing either fine art or landscape work do this kind of post processing to fit the image to their taste?

Ed



It's funny you should ask what we think of Ansel. Andy brought a book with lots of his photos in it, last time he visited. He lent it to me and I have to admit, while many of the images were awesome (especially the processing), many others were similar to what people post here. Very good, but nothing amazing. But, every shot I viewed was exposed extremely well and processed darn near perfectly. To me, it seemed like he spent most of his time visualizing the shot and in the darkroom. It almost seems like the time spent on the actual shot was minimal.

Which does make sense. If you see, in your mind's eye, the shot you are after, it makes it so much easier to be able to capture it. Then during processing, you can really make that image look like your vision.

This seems like an awful lot of work....lol Especially, when compared to my method of walking around clueless and pointing-and-shooting? :lol


OK, now stop posting these Yosemite pics Ed. You're going to make us all feel terrible when we don't come home, from our May visit, with results like yours :rofl

J/K and thanks for sharing these gorgeous pics with us,
Steve

[tmlphoto]

The waterfall is great. The lighting is dramatic and the exposure spot on. The tree limbs really add to the shot as well. Very well done. BTW I'm a real fan of Ansel Adams as well. I'm a sucker for contrasty B&W though.

[ian408]

Ansel Adams is like John Muir in a sense.

Just as Muir brought nature to the people by raising awareness, Adams'
work helped bring photography to the level of fine art. There are others
whose work should be considered as well. Like Edward Weston and Imogen
Cunningham.

To me, Ansel Adams work is more than what's found in most many conference
rooms. Aside from the those images, he spent a great deal of time perfecting
each image. Both in the camera and in "post".

As always, it is easier to follow than to lead and I think he was a leader in
his time.

Ian

[Nee7x7]

Your photos are awesome, Ed! The one of Yosemite Falls is esp. striking with the dead branches "reaching" toward the falls. I also love contrasty B & W and you've captured that look exceptionally well.

Back in my college years (in the early 70's) I was very privileged to go on a field trip with my photography class to visit Ansel Adams home studio in Carmel before he passed away. The experience was awesome! If I recall correctly, the prints Ansel Adams made were direct contact prints from his very large format camera. It was pretty inspiring to go to the "source", so to speak, and see how he worked.

But I will add that your photos are also quite inspiring! I've been to Yosemite more times than I can count, but I've yet to get the same quality of photos as yours posted here. Kudos to you for not only raising the bar that Ansel Adams set, but in some ways surpassing it!

Cheers!
~Nee :thumb

[ehughes]

Nee, Thanks.. That's an incredible compliment..

I have a friend here at work with a couple of autographed books from Ansel. I wish I had the chance to meet him.


Your photos are awesome, Ed! The one of Yosemite Falls is esp. striking with the dead branches "reaching" toward the falls. I also love contrasty B & W and you've captured that look exceptionally well.

Back in my college years (in the early 70's) I was very privileged to go on a field trip with my photography class to visit Ansel Adams home studio in Carmel before he passed away. The experience was awesome! If I recall correctly, the prints Ansel Adams made were direct contact prints from his very large format camera. It was pretty inspiring to go to the "source", so to speak, and see how he worked.

But I will add that your photos are also quite inspiring! I've been to Yosemite more times than I can count, but I've yet to get the same quality of photos as yours posted here. Kudos to you for not only raising the bar that Ansel Adams set, but in some ways surpassing it!

Cheers!
~Nee :thumb

[ehughes]

I agree Ian, he was a leader in his time without a doubt...
I wonder what he could have done with equipment available today, I wonder if his work would have been different?


Ansel Adams is like John Muir in a sense.

Just as Muir brought nature to the people by raising awareness, Adams'
work helped bring photography to the level of fine art. There are others
whose work should be considered as well. Like Edward Weston and Imogen
Cunningham.

To me, Ansel Adams work is more than what's found in most many conference
rooms. Aside from the those images, he spent a great deal of time perfecting
each image. Both in the camera and in "post".

As always, it is easier to follow than to lead and I think he was a leader in
his time.

Ian