Ansel Adams Exhibit - My Impressions

The Rockwell Museum of Western Art in Corning NY has had a summer long exhibit of Ansel Adams original prints. The prints are owned and have been stored by Kodak and are on loan to the Rockwell Museum.

My wife and I finally found some time to visit the museum and study the images. I have some impressions I would like to share and ask for comments from all of you.

First, I am stunned by the detail and dynamic range of the prints. I am used to seeing inexpensive reproductions of the originals and I can tell you they don't compare at all.

The original images have wonderful contrast and outstanding detail. I know that Ansel developed the "zone system" for exposure. I have studied it long ago while in college. We all use it when we check our histograms. However, to see the tremendous dynamic range of his original prints is awe inspiring. The repro prints commonly available just don't do the originals justice.

Secondly, I am surprised at how many of Ansel's prints "don't follow the rules". Now I know Ansel wrote most of the rules. However, many of his images have large very dark areas on the sides or bottom of the prints with little or no detail. These areas do add a sense of depth and certainly are a vital part of Ansel's vision. However, I could hear the critiques that would come from NPN and other sites to "crop the dark area out" - or "a tighter crop would help". I guess Ansel's vision included creating a sense of space and range of tones to give the observer not just detail, but a true feeling of reality.

I also noted how many images had the main subject centered. Again, I can hear the critiques - "More space to the right please"; "Wish the mountain or tree were not so centered in the frame"! Goes to show you rules are made as guide lines not absolutes. If our vision of a subject dictates a centered subject to emphasize our view of reality then centered it is.

Here on NPN we sometimes (not all the time) get focused on the smaller details that we lose sight of the larger sense of place that Ansel seemed to capture so well.

Finally, we all know that Ansel was instrumental in securing "straight" photography's place as a legitimate art form. He did this through his work with the f 64 group. However, after that he was part of a group dedicated to "Photography as Art". I was impressed with the fact that Ansel was critisized in his time for "for not including humans in his photographs and for representing an idealized wilderness that no longer exists."

These facts, to me, show that, in his day, Ansel was a pioneer in using nature photography to show the idealized view his mind observed. I have read before how he routinely "cloned out" unwaned details by either scraping a duplicate negative to remove the silver or painted the dup negative with opaque to lighten an area of a print beyond what doging could accomplish.

We have all read and participated in threads here discussing digital manipulation. I do not want to start, yet again, that discussion. My point is that from the very beginings of nature photography, by the founder of the art form, image manipulation existed and was exploited by none other than Ansel Adams himself.

Well, there it is. My impressions after having the privilege of viewing the wonderful original images of the master. If you ever have a chance to see an exhibit like this do not miss the opportunity. It is instructional and inspirational. Your own vision will grow - you will understand your roots better than ever before.

Thanks for enduring this rather long ramble.

Thanks for your observations, Ed. They certainly give all of us food for thought.

Having seen many of Ansel's original prints, I echo your observations.

Ansel's development of the Zone System was based upon 'visualization', i.e. knowing what the final print would look like before pushing the shutter release. The Zone System encompassed exposure and development of the negative as the 'score' from which the final print, 'the performance', could be realized.

I think that Ansel didn'r really 'break the rules'; he 'bent' them. Yes, he did center elements. Yes, he did use pure black (and pure white) in his photographs. The key is that he used these no-no's in such a way that the elements balanced one another into a unified whole. That, I believe, is why his photographs resonate with viewers, regardless of the subject matter.

Not only was Ansel Adams a fine technician: He was an artist of the highest calibre.

-PB

Hi Ed - That same exhibit was here in Pensacola last year, and like you, I was struck by the range and detail. The main thought that kept going through my head though was that Adams was striking new territory through so much of his work. Today, most of us still strive to just come up to his standards, and this with the advent of computers, digital cameras, etc. He was truly ahead of his time.

Whenever I think of Yosemite, I always think of Ansel Adams' Clearing Winter Storm photo. Weird that although I have my own experiences with Yosemite, my initial memories that come to mind of the place are of someone else's photographs. He set the standard, we're all just trying to live up to it.

I had the chance to visit an Ansel Adams exhibit in Springfield, Mo. a couple of years ago. The prints were amazing, but I think what left the most impression was Ansel kept “reworking” his prints using different techniques and paper. The subject may have been the same in each print, but the colors or moods of the prints would be different. It seems to me that Ansel may have visualized the print before pushing the shutter release, he also kept working until the final print meet his vision. I think that is one reason Ansel was such a great artisit.

David