Unit 57: Photography and Photographic

Practice Research of other

photographers work

Photographer: Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams took his first photograph in 1916 which made him realized his love for photography.He is Americas best known landscape photographer.He is famous for his technical skill and his love for unmanipulated photography, soon after this he cofounded a group that believe in all the same as him.In 1932 he exhibited his work to with group.In 1940 Adam helped found the department of photography in the Museum Of Modern Art in New York, he was then later awarded for this and his other accomplishments.He started to give other advice and became sort of a teacher to people always stressing the importance and art of photography.Finally in 1980 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country's highest civilian honor.

Examples of photographs

Half Dome, Blowing Snow.

Rose and Driftwood

White House Ruin

 

  Tetons and the Snake River

1942

Mountain Pine, Mono Creek1930

I like this photo of his because its ironic and have humour in it. The information in this photograph is that no cars should be parked here but the cars are anyway. I think the content is very simple in this photo you don’t have to think about it, but its like Ansel just had to take the picture because of what it shows. The intent of Ansel Adams taking this was to show humour and to represent the place where he was maybe. Showing this happening somewhere and it normally wouldn’t. He may have found this strange and abnormal to himself that people wouldn’t read signs. It’s a one off picture he probably wouldn’t get the chance to take again. Even though its simple its capturing a moment and sharing his moment with everyone else. In this image you don’t have to concentrate or look at the different aspects or pay attention. This picture was taken while Ansel Adam travelled around the world inspiring himself with everyday art. This picture isn't one of his many landscape pictures but because of what it is makes me like it just as much as the others.

Composition In this image Ansel Adams chooses to capture this tree specifically, the shot is filled with this one main object. The shot cuts out everything around the tree even part of the trunk so that the main focus is on the shape of it. He includes the rock underneath the tree also rather than just getting the abstract part of the tree, he also gets some of the sky on a little bit of the left and around it. It looks like the camera has just been positioned close to the tree rather than zoomed in, I think Ansel has done this so the image is seen as what it would be if you was stood that close just looking. In the shot we can see the shadow cast from the tree onto the rock which shows the sun is on the left hand side if the picture without actually seeing it. If the picture was taken further back then we would be able to see the sun that’s casting the shadows. Also we would be able to see how tall the tree actually was because of the shadow and how big it was, but in this image we cant see the end of it. Having shadows cast is used a lot in photography purposely to give good effect. After taking an image it can be cropped to show the main subject but this one was taken with the object in mind and this certain element was picked. It affects the message of the image because viewers want to think about what's missing around the picture so we try and look beyond the tree.

In the picture if you look in under the lowest branch of the tree in the background there is a big mountain it looks like he purposely angled it so the bottom branch would just hover over the mountains in the distance. This makes them look tiny but because of the fade in them you can tell there are just really far away. He has angled the camera so that the branch sort of forms a shape like the mountain.

Techniques usedIn this picture Ansel Adams has captured a picture using the rule of thirds. There are clear lines to show this, the sky then the bright lower sky then the ground with houses and fields. It’s a strong image even though it’s a dark one because the sections are clearly shown and makes the picture very equal and interesting at the same time. I think photographers use this rule so that they can get a bit of everything so no one has to pretend what's in the rest of the picture. The picture is quite dirk and misty looking. I think he used a slow shutter speed to keep the movement in the image, for example the clouds and the lowering blackness of the sky to show how everything was moving when the image was took. It’s a good way to take it because in the picture you can see the atmosphere in the air because of the slight blur.

Strengths & WeaknessesI love this picture how even though its in black and white you can still imagine how white the snow would be in contrast to the colour of the mountains, dark sky and green grass. A strong point in this image is the rule of thirds, he has shown us the sky then the big mountains in the middle that we are attracted to then the green grass at the bottom leading out towards us. A weakness in this photo for me is that I would of liked if Adams took the photo from a high shot so that the image made the mountains look bigger and more towering over everything else as they are the main part of the picture.