Yosemite - Relatively weak attempt to emulate Ansel Adams

PhotoLasVegas · March 27, 2010

Ok so we went on a family trip to Yosemite... and my goal was to not take any shots that Adams had taken... to try to find things that few if any other people have taken pictures of (I mean, do we REALLY need a new photo of Bridal Veil?) but still have them be reminiscent of Adams. Maybe someone would think just for a moment, "that looks a little like an Ansel Adams shot" then think "that he took when he was 12"

I think I did a decent job, but I'm not a landscape photog so my lack of experience shows thru... I tried to process the B/W to be very high contrast and a bit grainy to emulate Adams.

Sorry for the logo/watermarks...

#1 is actually at Bridal Veil, just a new look

#2 looking off the walking path - sometimes I LOVE this shot, other times I wonder what the heck I was thinking when I shot it.

#3 probably done before, not as unique as I'd like, but it reflects one of the styles I use in my wedding photography, and REALLY shows the SIZE of these trees!

#4 this one I was more just screwing around trying to get a nice sunbeam/flare shot.

PhotoLasVegas · March 27, 2010

Oh yeah, critique (picky and harsh is great!) is appreciated. Comments and constructive criticism are welcomed!

PhotoLasVegas · March 30, 2010

Are these too bland/great/horrible/average to comment on? Don't be scared, I can take it....

astrostu · March 30, 2010

>100 views and no replies? Having faced similar circumstances with my own threads before, I'll comment. I think the reason that you're getting no replies is that they aren't that great, at least in my opinion. I've never seen Adams' shots, so I can't speak to how well you may or may not be mimicking them.

I think the first is alright, kinda interesting. In the second one, I can't really tell what the point is. It looks just like a random forest scene that was made B&W. The third has an interesting perspective, but the perspective is all that's interesting about it; I'm not sure how to make it more interesting (did I use that word already?). In the 4th, the contrast of a flare from the sun vs. the dark tree trunk may be interesting if it were way off-center (maybe using rule of thirds) and not just a random section of the middle of a tree.

May not be the response you're looking for, but at least it's a response, right?

tenoverthenose · March 30, 2010

I'm really not sure where to start here, so bear with me. They all seem to lack a clear subject. The first shot is by far the most interesting with the cloud of mist, but the foreground is visual chaos. #2 I keep looking at not really knowing what to look at. In #3 the tree bark looks blown out, with the tops of the trees centered in frame - I see visual lines leading to the center, but nothing is there. #4 has the sun too centered for my tastes.

As to the conversions, these are way to contrasty and lose the subtlety of Yosemite. It seems as if you have crushed the blacks and whites with very little in between. Generally speaking, black and white photography lives in the grey.