If I had to choose one photographer who had an impact on my life it would be Ansel Adams (1902-1984). His photograph is shown below and can be found at http://blogbusinessworld.blogspot.com/2009/10/ansel-adams-in-color-by-ansel-adams.html
I grew up in a home with a mother who loved photography. Every year, the morning of the first snow fall my mother would gather myself and my brothers and head to this large park in Kitchener-Waterloo. My brothers and I would play while my mother took black and white photographs of the trees. The photographs were beautiful and I wish had them to display for you today. The photographs resembled a photo that hung on the wall in our dining room. While doing research for this assignment I found that same photograph on the Internet. It was taken by Ansel Adams, in 1948, the photograph is called Oak Tree, Snowstorm. This breathtaking photograph is shown below and can be found on the Ansel Adams Gallery Website at www.anseladams.com.
I have learned through my research that many of the photographs on the walls in my childhood home were taken by Ansel Adams. I was drawn to these photographs as a child. I could stare for hours and each time notice something different. When I first saw this photograph, I only noticed the oak tree. I was a small child and this was the extent of my creative mind. I later noticed the trees in the background and was curious as to whether they were much smaller than the oak or just really far away. I then noticed the mountain creeping up behind the tree. Now as an adult I notice the top of the mountain and the fog crawling over it.
The following information about Ansel Adams can be found on his family’s website mentioned above. Ansel is most famous for his photographs taken in Yosemite Valley. He first visited there in 1919 for a summer posting as “keeper” of the lodge. He then returned for four consecutive summers. He returned often for the remainder of his life each time taking his camera with him. His fist camera was a Kodak that his parents purchased for him. Ansel also met and married his wife in Yosemite in 1928. He was often seen climbing, hiking and crawling around Yosemite Valley in search of the right moment to take one of his famous photographs. The photo below was taken of Ansel on top of his car in Yosemite Valley, it can be found at the following link http://ylovephoto.com/en/2011/02/20/don%E2%80%99t-take-photos-make-photos/.
Ansel was quoted saying the following :
“Not taking photos is refusing to simply press the shutter button because we have seen something. Making a photo is a matter of attitude, being constructive in front of all pictures. We must choose our framing, choose our exposure, choose our depth of field, choose exact moment. This way, I will build my own photo rather than taking what appeared there. And, any photograph can have such an aim for quality”.
Those He inspired
Ansel Adams is famous for taking photographs of nature. He has inspired many to be patient with nature to create photographs of their own. The following is a list of five photographers’ who’s photographs are similar to those taken by Ansel and can all be found on the Ansel Adams Gallery website.
1. Jeffrey Conley: Below you will find a photograph taken by Jeffrey Conley, it is called Magnolia.
This photograph is very similar to one taken by Ansel Adams, called Rose and Driftwood. I believe this photo was inspired by Ansel for many reasons. You will notice that both flowers are at a similar angel. Both flowers also appear to be white but that could be a trick of the eye because both photographs are taken in black and white. You will also notice the surface upon which the flowers are placed. In the photograph above it appears that the flower is placed upon some kind of rough surface. It could be wood or it could be concrete. You will also notice that in the photograph below taken by Ansel, the rose is also sitting upon a rough surfaced piece of driftwood.
1. Bob Kolbrener: Below you will find a photograph taken by Bob Kolbrener, it is called Bridalveil Fall.
This photograph is very similar to one taken by Ansel Adams. Ansel took a photograph of a waterfall in lower Yosemite Valley. The photograph named Lower Yosemite is shown below. It is similar to the photo taken by Bob Kolbrener in many ways. Both photo’s are in black and white. Both shown a large waterfall surrounded by large beautiful trees. The photo by Bob Kolbrener was taken years after the one by Ansel. However, the similarities are obvious and Bob was most certainly inspired by Ansel.
3. Alan Ross: The following is a photograph taken by Alan Ross, it is call Sandstorm, Curling Sand.
This photograph is quite similar to one taken by Ansel Adams. Below you will find the photo taken by Ansel called Sand Dunes, Sunrise Death Valley. You will notice that both photographs are taken at a similar angel. Both are taken of the peak of sand dunes. The photo by Alan is taken in a different light that the photo by Ansel. Adam also incorporated more emphasis on the sand dune and the curling sand. Ansel seems to have put more emphasis on the background as well as the sand dune.
4. Patrick Joblonski: Below you will find a photograph taken by Patrick Joblonski, it is called Cottonwood Trees.
This photograph is similar to one taken by Ansel Adams and was most certainly inspired by Ansel's work. Many of the photo's Ansel took were of bare trees during the winter covered in snow. The photo's were taken in black and white and the trees had an almost "skeletonized" look to them. The photo above taken by Patrick looks much the same. It would be easy to see how his work is inspired by Ansel. The photo below is one taken by Ansel Adams himself and it is called, Trees and Cliffs of Eagle Park.
5. Tom Mallonee: Below you will find a photograph taken by Tom Mallonee, it is called Burn Area, East of Mono Lake.
This photograph could easily be inspired by one similar and taken by Ansel Adams. There are a few reasons this was inspired by Ansel but not a replica by any means. Below you will find a photograph taken by Ansel. The photo has similarities to the one above. Both have rows of similar trees which appear to be in a dead state. The photo by Tom Mallonee it is known that the trees are dead due to the title "burn area". With Ansel they appear to be dead but the title suggest otherwise using the word "spring". Both also appear to be taken on grey dreary days, however that could be a trick of the eye because the photo's are taken in black a white. Although the photo's are not similar between the artists, it is not a far stretch to say that Tom was inspired by Ansel.
Ansel Adams has inspired many with his beautiful photographs. His work has gained much popularity and some photo's have been sold for as much as $50,000. I have spoken above about a few of the artists who's work seems to have been inspired by Ansel. Of course, these are only my opinions of the matter. The photographs above can all be found on the Ansel Adams Gallery Webpage. The artists I have spoke of today have been found to be talented enough by the family of Ansel Adams to share his website.
I have also spoken before on previous blog posts about my love affair with black and white photography. I believe tonight I have come to the realization that perhaps my love affair began as a child in a home with walls covered in beautiful photographs taken by Ansel Adams.
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