Ansel Adams most famous photographs
Ansel Adams | The pioneer of Landscape photography
Ansel Adams was an American Landscape photographer who is widely renowned as the father of Landscape photography. He is famous for his pictures of the American west; particularly the wilderness of California in areas like Yosemite. With his photos of Half-dome, El Capitan, and other national parks like The Grand Tetons of Wyoming becoming internationally recognized. Ansel was given his first camera at the age of 14 during a visit to Yosemite, which would spark a lifelong mission of photography, environmentalism, and conservatism. Hired by the US Department of the Interior, Ansel can be credited for his role in conserving and expanding the National Park system of the United States by making the beauty of this Country widely accessible for the first time.
Ansel Adams Self-Portrait
What Camera did Ansel Adams use?
Like most of us photographers, Ansel Adams didn't just use one camera throughout his career. He used various cameras and various formats ranging from Large-format 8x10 to Medium format, to 35mm film.
Kodak No1 Brownie
As mentioned previously, Ansel Adams was given his first Camera at the age of 14, that Camera being the Kodak No1 Brownie. This Camera would be the spark that lead to significant innovations in Film and Landscape Photography
Kodak No1 Brownie, Ansel Adams’ First Camera
Korona View Camera
This was One of Ansel Adams’ favorite cameras, and was constructed with Mahogany, and Nickel Plating. This Camera was in production from 1900 - 1912 by the Gundlach Optical Co.
Korona View Camera- One of Ansel’s’ many Cameras
Hasselblad 500c Medium Format Camera
The Hasselblad 500c was, and is one of the most beloved medium format film cameras ever produced, and Ansel Adams is a testament to that. This camera represents the Pinnacle of the Hasselblad V series of Cameras. This particular model was launched in 1957, and widely used by Ansel in his later works.
Hasselblad 500c Medium Format Camera, a world-renowned camera system used by Ansel Adams
Ansel Adams Photography Style and Innovations
Ansel Adams helped form a group called f/64 which primarily helped advocate for pure and unaltered photographic practices. However, Ansel could generally be found in stark contrast to this mission statement.
One of Ansel Adams’ most famous photographs titled “Monolith, the Face of Half Dome”. This print helped coin the term “Visualization” within photography. Ansel was quoted as saying “I had been able to realize a desired image: not the way the subject appeared in reality but how it felt to me and how it must appear in the finished print.” This was something groundbreaking at the time. Ansel wanted to not simply capture a photo, he wanted to create a feeling. What did it feel like when he was standing there, gazing at the awe-inspiring face of Half-dome?
Ansel was the creator of what he coined “The Zone System”. This was an older method of what we would refer to as dynamic range recovery. Put simply, the method involved capturing images in a way to maintain the details in the shadows and blacks, and processing them in the darkroom in a way that would prevent the whites and highlights from becoming totally blown out.
The Zone System
Five famous and inspiring Ansel Adams Photographs
Valley View
Valley View is one of the most iconic Photos’ of Ansel Adams, and one of the most Iconic Photos of the wilderness in California that is Yosemite National Park. This photograph has been replicated thousands of times by photographers internationally.
Valley View - Ansel Adams
Credit: Ansel Adams © The Trustees of the Ansel Adams publishing Rights Trust.
Monolith, The Face of Half-Dome (1927)
This aforementioned photo caused controversy in the purist photography movement due to the techniques Ansel Adams used to achieve his desired image visualization. That being said, most would agree this image is nothing short of a stunning representation of one of America’s most iconic mountain faces.
Monolith, The Face of Half-Dome - Ansel Adams
Credit: Ansel Adams © The Trustees of the Ansel Adams publishing Rights Trust.
Snake River in the Grand Tetons (1942)
The Grand Tetons are some of the most stunning mountains in the entire United States. This Vista captures the winding Snake River Leading to Grand Teton with dramatic skies overhead. The composition guides the viewer's eye toward the awe-inspiring mountains in the distant, dusted with snowfall.
Snake River - Ansel Adams
Credit: Ansel Adams © The Trustees of the Ansel Adams publishing Rights Trust.
Moonrise over Hernandez, New Mexico (1941)
One of Ansel’s most recognized and celebrated images, this photo captures a stunning moonrise over a small town in New Mexico with dramatic skies on the horizon, and deep, rich tones throughout the image. Personally, I don’t understand the hype around this photo in particular, I could nitpick many things with it that generally you want to avoid as photographers. But maybe that's why Ansel is legendary and I am not. There is an artform and subjectivity to it that shouldn't be lost on us.
Moonrise over Hernandez, NM - Ansel Adams
Credit: Ansel Adams © The Trustees of the Ansel Adams publishing Rights Trust.
Before the Golden Gate Bridge
This image captures a by-gone era of the American West. A time long before the widespread interstate system. The San Francisco Bay without the Golden Gate Bridge is a long-forgotten Sight memorialized in Ansel’s Work.
Before the Golden Gate Bridge - Ansel Adams
Credit: Ansel Adams © The Trustees of the Ansel Adams publishing Rights Trust.
Ansel Adams Stamps
Ansel Adams has been engrained as one of the most impactful pioneers of photography in the United States. Consequently, he has been honored with his own set of Ansel Adams Stamps.
Ansel Adams Stamps
Ansel Adams inspired not just a generation of Photographers, but perhaps almost all landscape photographers. I personally admire his techniques, style, and ability to capture and show some of the most beautiful places on earth to many who may never get the chance to see it otherwise. Ansel Adams legacy will live on as long as the medium of Landscape photography does.
A Fine art Print by Darin Deveau
A Fine art Print by Darin Deveau
A Fine art Print by Darin Deveau