Happy Birthday Ansel Adams and On Visualization

[shootem]

I've been long absent. Life has taken some interesting turns... and busy does not begin to describe it.

However, after receiving a friend request, and being in touch with Ruth, I decided it's long over due that I pop back in to say hello, and enjoy your recent work.

Also, this day is a bit special, as it is the birthday of one of photography's masters: Ansel Adams. Whether or not you like his photographs, he was responsible for moving photography into another era... and his development of the zone system has aided photographers for decades.

Food for thought: here is a very short but interesting excerpt from one of his books, posted this day on the A. Adams Gallery website:

Happy Birthday Ansel!

[RTaylor]

so nice to see you Carolyn, and the perfect day for you to pop in on Ansel's birthday
Interesting how your bday and his are so close lol. Your new avatar looks interesting from the thumbnail, I have to go check out the large version
Any of the new members who haven't seen Carolyn's work, you can see some of it here on Bytephoto and I think a link to her website is in her profile.

[shootem]

Timing is purely coincidental Ruth..... although I did give a couple of talks on A. Adams in November/December. Learned a lot.

Just wondering... have any of you clicked on the link and read the article? It is really short... no long essay here. Thought maybe some would be interested in starting a discussion re: visualization from his article.

[RTaylor]

Carolyn, I did read it. What stood out in my mind was this statement.

The photographer visualizes his conception of the subject as presented in the final print. He achieves the expression of his visualization through his technique - aesthetic, intellectual, and mechanical.

so its all what a photographer feels while standing in front of a scene and what his eyes and mind are creating. 2 photographers can both be technically adept but both standing in front of the same scene will capture what they feel and most likely will come up with 2 different presentations

[shootem]

Exactly! Here is an exerpt from a talk I recently gave at the Oceanside Museum of Art. AND Please - take what I say about *colour* with a grain of salt, remember that I see the world in black and white... and I'm speaking about my photographs...

"my chosen mode of personal creative expression is photography. Photography is about seeing. Seeing the light wrapping around the still earth. Seeing the light in dark places. Seeing a story unravel in place before my lens.

Even more-so photography is about feeling... Creating a photograph that speaks to my spirit. Makes me feel something. Good, bad, but not indifferent. A physical reaction. A connection. An affirmation….. affirming my spirit here on earth alongside the spirit of nature.

Communicating with my photography means establishing a connection with you, the viewer… trying to bring each of us - a little closer to our untamed wild mysterious side – that side of us that does communicate with the spirit of nature. Too often in the helter skelter of every day life, that gift gets buried. If I can connect with you on some level with my photography… hopefully I can awaken in you a desire to help protect these natural places, and the wildlife that calls them home.

Minor White said and I quote “One should not only photograph things for what they are - but for what else they are”….. Keeping that in mind, I try to still my mind…. And look at things for what else they are…. That’s when the feeling part might start to happen, and when it does… I do my best work. An empty mind… but not a static mind, actively receptive… waiting/looking/feeling – then click….. the moment of “seeing” is captured. But not preconceived. Henri Cartier Bresson called this the decisive moment.

I try not to associate what I see with what I know… I think that allows me a more clear pristine vision, unaltered by limitations set by my so called knowledge of what I’m “looking at”…

I’m frequently asked if I make images in colour – or simply why do I make my photographs in black and white?
To see in colour is delightful to the eye, but to see in black and white delights the soul….. No colour to attract or distract. Only the sensual lines, the shadows and highlights…. Lines, light and shapes repeated. That’s what delights my soul.

Ansel Adams said there is always 2 people in every photograph. The photographer, and the person viewing it. Viewing photography has been discussed at length by Alfred Stieglitz, and his thoughts on the subject were picked up, expanded and taught by Minor White. They talk about a viewer having a reaction to a photograph – and describe that reaction as an Equivalent. It is a lengthy, deep discussion, I’d like to just briefly end this talk with this excerpt:

When you the viewer, looks at a photograph… and you have a feeling, or are reminded of something… that photograph is functioning as an equivalent. It (the photograph) is a record of something in front of the camera… and at the same time, a spontaneous symbol or metaphor to you the viewer."

[ImKayd1]

I've read it and really appreciate the creative aspect of 'seeing' and making what you see a reality on paper. I've been watching videos on Ansel and the other 'Master' photographers of my own Monterey area, and am always in awe and inspired to 'see' more. The artical was superb and well worth the few minutes in took to read. Then view the beautiful HighKey of Half Dome. Thanks for sharing.

Suzan

[shootem]

Suzan, your *area*... well actually a bit south... has seen soooooo many wonderful photographers, writers, poets etc.... Edward Weston, A. Adams, Minor White, Robinson Jeffers, Henry Miller to name but a few ... still living and a wonderful photographer is Al Weber. And the Weston Gallery in Carmel is always a treat to visit. Have you been to the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur?

[pippafox]

"To see in colour is delightful to the eye, but to see in black and white delights the soul….. No colour to attract or distract. Only the sensual lines, the shadows and highlights…. Lines, light and shapes repeated. That’s what delights my soul."


beautifully put, Carolyn.