Ansel Adams

(1902 -1984) - U.S.A.
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​Photography

MONDAY

Ansel Adams was an American photographer known for his black-and-white images of the American West.  

Born in San Francisco, California, he first visited Yosemite National Park in 1916 with his family. Yosemite National Park is set within California’s Sierra Nevada mountains​. His father gave him his first camera, a Kodak Brownie box camera, during that stay.  Adams was in awe of the splendor of Yosemite and the trip began a new era for him.  

Monolith, the Face of Half Dome by Ansel Adams

In 1927, Adams produced his first portfolio of prints which included his famous image Monolith, the Face of Half Dome. Between 1929 and 1942, Adams’ work and reputation developed. Adams expanded his repertoire, focusing on detailed close-ups as well as large forms, from mountains to factories.

Clearing Winter Storm by Adams

In 1931, he displayed 60 photographs of the High Sierra at the Smithsonian Institution.  This was his first solo museum exhibition.  

By the 1960’s, appreciation of photography as an art form took hold, and Adams exhibited photos in large galleries and museums.​​​

YouTube video - Ansel Adams (6:04 min.)

YouTube video - Ansel Adams slideshow of photos (3:26 min.)

TUESDAY

In addition to helping elevate photography to an art form, Ansel Adams played an important role in wilderness preservation.  In 1938, Adams created a limited-edition book, Sierra Nevada: The John Muir Trail, to help establish Sequoia and Kings Canyon in California as national parks.  The book and Adams’ testimony before Congress helped those areas be declared as national parks.  

Adams’ black-and-white photographs of the outdoors inspired an appreciation for nature in others.  He is viewed as an environmental folk hero because of his dedication to preserving Yosemite and other natural areas.  

In 1968, Adams was awarded the Conservation Service Award by the Department of the Interior, “in recognition of your many years of distinguished work as a photographer, artist, interpreter and conservationist, a role in which your efforts have been of profound importance in the conservation of our great natural resources."  

In 1980 Adams received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for "his efforts to preserve this country's wild and scenic areas, both on film and on earth.  Ansel Adams is considered to be both an artist and a conservationist.

YouTube video - A look at Ansel Adams (1:40 min.)

WEDNESDAY

Vernal Fall by Adams

Ansel Adams’s black-and-white photographs are an important record of what the National Parks were like before tourism.  By the 1960’s, photography such as Adams’ works were appreciated as an art form.  

His photographs are still widely reproduced on calendars, posters, and books.  One poster bears an Adams’ quote:   “A true photograph need not be explained, nor can it be contained in words.” ​ 

In 1980, President Carter awarded Adams the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.  

One of his photographic masterpieces is Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico.  The photograph became so popular that Adams personally made over 1,300 prints of it during his career.  

Another of his masterpieces is our artwork of the week, The Tetons and the Snake River.  The photo was taken in 1942 in northwest Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park. It shows the turning Snake River against the background of the Teton mountain range.  Do you see any people in the photo?  Ansel Adams said there are always two people in every picture.  His full quote:  “There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.”  ​​

THURSDAY

Photography was invented in the early decades of the 1800’s.  Due to the influence of Ansel Adams and others, photography began to be seen as capable of being fine art -- that is, it could be artwork that expressed the artist’s emotion or viewpoint to others. Ansel Adams said, “A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.“

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Because photos realistically showed people and scenes, they were also excellent for journalism and news reporting.  Many journalistic photos have become famous for the way they capture a moment or touch our hearts.  During the Great Depression, Dorothea Lange became a ground-breaking documentary photographer.  Her 1936 photo Migrant Mother came to symbolize the struggle of people during the Depression period in America.  

This famous photograph was taken in New York City's Times Square after victory against the Japanese was declared.  This sailor celebrated by grabbing a nurse and kissing her.  It captured the joy and excitement of a long, terrible war ending.
For the photo's story: http://nypost.com/2012/06/17/the-true-story-behind-the-iconic-v-j-day-sailor-and-nurse-smooch/

YouTube video - Iconic photo 70 years later (5:29 min.)

This famous photograph shows men who worked on one of New York City's skyscrapers taking their lunch break while sitting on a beam many stories above the ground.  None wear safety harnesses, yet their relaxed poses show they feel very much at home in the dangerous location.

YouTube video - Lunch Atop a Skyscraper (1:29 min.)

National Geographic Magazine published this photo on one of their covers.  Steve McCurry snapped the photo of an Afghan girl in a refugee camp in Pakistan in 1984.  The haunting green-eyes of the girl captured the public's attention.  17 years later, a McCurry and a team from National Geographic searched Pakistan and Afghanistan to find her and finally did. For the story of the photo:  http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2002/04/afghan-girl/index-text

YouTube video - The Afghan Girl 1985-2002 (5 min.)

This photo was so powerful it inspired millions of Americans to buy war bonds and helped America win World War II.  Photographer Joe Rosenthal captured five U.S. Marines and a Navy sailor as they raised an American flag on a hill on the island of Iwo Jima, where U.S. troops fought a fierce battle against the Japanese.  Some say it’s the most perfectly composed news photo of all time.  

The Marine Corps used the image for a large memorial statue in Arlington, VA.

YouTube video -  Story of Iwo Jima flag photo (3:55 min.)

FRIDAY

Technological trends and digital photography have now opened up many possibilities and new directions for fine art photography.  The photos of Christopher Cline and his dog, Juji, which he altered with Photoshop are examples.  ​

Photo by Andreas Gursky

The most money ever paid for an artistic photograph was in 2011, when Rhein II was auctioned for $4.3 million dollars.  The photo is by a German artist, Gursky, and depicts the River Rhine as it flows horizontally across between green fields and under an overcast sky. ​

The following photographs were taken without the assistance of digitally altering the photos.  They can all be found all with others at this website:  http://brightside.me/article/100-best-photographs-without-photoshop-46555/  ​

A Blue Universe in Japan by Hiroki Kondo

New York - two worlds by Kathleen Dolmatch

Photo by Steve Biro

Italian beach

Toy Houses by Fyodor Savintsev

Namib Desert in Africa

Sources: 

​"Ansel Adams - 156 Artworks, Bio & Shows On Artsy". Artsy.net. N. p., 2017. Web. 7 Mar. 2017.