Ansel Adams Influence On Photography

Ansel Adams

Born in 1902, Ansel Adams was an American photographer who resided in the city of San Francisco. Adams faced dealing with dyslexia and was prone to frequent illness as a child. Despite living in a home that faced financial struggles, and living with a mother who battled mental illness, Ansel Adams managed to impact photography in a great way as well as the history of the United States.

Before becoming an avid photographer, Adams was a musician who strived to become a concert pianist. He taught himself to read music and then began taking lessons. After that, he played the piano for a number of years. Ultimately, he discovered his love for photography and decided to pursue that as a profession, however his time spent as a pianist served him well as a photographer. Playing the piano helped Ansel hone his craft for photography because in order to do these things, an individual needs structure, substance, and self-discipline. (Turnage)

Adams biggest influence was Alfred Stieglitz. Stieglitz was the creator of the photographic style of pictorialism. (Heath) According to Encyclopedia

Britannica, pictorialism is an approach to photography that emphasizes beauty of subject matter, tonality, and composition rather than the documentation of reality. (Encyclopedia Britannica, Editors .) Adams considered Stieglitz to be one of the greatest role models that he had besides his father, stating that “Stieglitz taught me what became my first commandment. Art is the affirmation of life (Heath)
While in Yosemite, California, Ansel Adams had an epiphany. At the age of fourteen on a family trip Adams was presented with his first camera. This camera would forevermore begin to shape his life as a photographer. He spent most of the trip photographing landscapes and jaw dropping scenery. While hiking one day, he came to the conclusion, that by using a filter, he was able to make a photograph look as expressive as it felt.
After facing an earthquake in the Great Depression, Ansel felt as if he shouldn’t photograph his current environment. Instead he chose to become an environmental activist by continuing to do what he did best: photographing landscapes. Adams wanted the people to see outside of their own little world by viewing his photography. He wanted people to realize that there was more to the world than what they were seeing in their own little world each day. He was so active as an environmentalist, and in politics, he later became a member of the Sierra Club. John Szarkowski, explained that writers use written resources, such as a dictionary to find a certain word for their word. However, because Adams was an activist and pro-environmental health, he used his photography as his medium to express his feelings.
One thing that Ansel had held near to him was friends, love, and art. Each of these things had a special place in his heart, and he defined each in his own special way. Art had a huge meaning to him because it was his passion in life, defining it as both friendship and love. Much like today, friendship is defined as acceptance. However, to Ansel, friendship, was much more than just acceptance. Because he had such a hard time making friends as a child, he found solace in nature, which is one of the reasons why he photographed so much of it. Love was something that was deeply emotional, yet passive. Ansel was once married to a woman named Virginia, whilst pursuing a career as a musician. After realizing his true love was photography, he decided to remarry Virginia, and pursue his passion by staying at Yosemite. He had a calm love for photography, and was deeply emotionally connected to his craft.
Ansel Adams often said that “chance favors the prepared mind” when shooting photography. As a student, I believe that this meant that one must be prepared to take the chance when opportunity arises. Good works of effort do not just happen, one must be looking for them to happen, but must also do the work for them to occur.
The ‘John Muir Trail’ was where Ansel Adams spent most of his time. Looking back on his photographs today, many of his most famous photographs were taken there. It is a beautiful trail in the Yosemite Valley in California. Because Ansel was able to make pictures, look as expressive as it felt, and as expressive as it made others feel, the photographs that he took at the “John Muir Trail” left his inspiration and biggest role model Alfred Stieglitz in pure and stunning awe.
Adam’s art was being shown in several galleries across the nation by the 1960s, and many were able to see his work.

(Biography.com Editors) In addition to being seen in many galleries, as he grew older he decided to become an educator. Adams was one never to sit idle, and was always productive. He spent his time creating different books, lecturing, and enjoying the beauty that America had to offer. He spent much of his time in the 70’s trying to meet public demand, working with the negatives he had to create prints because they were so widely desired. Ansel Adams now has land named after him in Yosemite called the Ansel Adams Wilderness. In addition to that, a peak in High Sierra was declared Mount Ansel Adams. In 1980, he received another honor from the president of the United States by being awarded the highest civilian honor called the Presidential Medal of

Freedom.

Adams once said ““When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.”. I interpret this as meaning that when words aren’t enough, and when they are vague, that it is best to focus on images or the world around you as a whole. When you have a hard time focusing on the world as a whole, sometimes silence is for the best, and as some say “silence is golden”
Adams passed away in the year of 1984, on April 22 at The Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey, California. He had developed cardiovascular disease in life, and died of a heart attack. (Editors,Biography.com) Learning about Adams was interesting. I enjoy photography, but I have never particularly been interested in a specific photographer or their technique. Adams struggled as a child. However, he made a lasting impression in the world of photography as a whole. He has impacted many photographers today with the style of pictorialism and the ability to make his photos very expressive in the idea that he photographs appear how they felt, and how they made him feel.

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Works Cited

Ansel Adams: A Documentary Film. PBS, n.d.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/ansel/filmmore/pt.html
Pictorialism". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 11 Sep. 2015
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Editors, Biography.com. "Ansel Adams." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 12 Sept. 2015. .
Heath, Drew. "Inspiration and Influence: The Visions of Ansel Adams; Essay by Drew Heath Johnson." Inspiration and Influence: The Visions of Ansel Adams; Essay by Drew Heath Johnson. Oakland Museum of California, 22 July 2002. Web. 11 Sept. 2015.
Turnage, William. "ANSEL ADAMS BIOGRAPHY." - The Ansel Adams Gallery. Web. 11 Sept. 2015. .