Ansel Adams: 25 Beautifully Nostalgic Black and White Photographs
25 Beautiful Ansel Adams Photos
Truly beautiful travel photos from one of the greatest black and white photographers of our time
Working as caretaker and a photo technician at the Sierra Club in Yosemite Valley, he soon accomplished his dream of becoming a full-time photographer, publishing his first prints of the High Sierras in 1927, and of Taos Pueblo in 1930.
While other photographers concentrated on photojournalism, Adams was the first person to truly pioneer photography as an artform. Shooting almost exclusively in black and white, he worked primarily with large-format cameras to produce stunning high-resolution landscapes and pin-sharp textures.
Adams travelled extensively with his camera, throughout a career spanning over 8 decades, but it was that first Yosemite trip that really stole his heart. Returning a great many times throughout his life, he visited the birthplace of his artform for the last time in 1983, before passing away aged 82, in 1984
Below we highlight the most beautiful works of Ansel Adams’ extensive career. Click on the images to view large.
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Mt. Moran, Teton National Park
Not everybody trusts paintings but people believe photographs. Ansel Adams
Acomo Pueblo, New Mexico
Church, Acoma Pueblo
Church, Acoma Pueblo
House in Acoma Pueblo
A photograph is usually looked at – seldom looked into. Ansel Adams
Navajo Indians, Canyon De Chelly, Arizona
Navajo Woman and Infant
No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit. Ansel Adams
Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico
The Giant Dome, a 60 million year old stalagmite
Large drapery formation known as the Guillatine
Natural formations at Carlsbad Caverns
The Rock of Ages in ‘the Big Room’
A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed. Ansel Adams
Canyon de Chelly, Arizona
Panorama of the valley at Canyon de Chelly
Millions of men have lived to fight, build palaces and boundaries, shape destinies and societies; but the compelling force of all times has been the force of originality and creation profoundly affecting the roots of human spirit. Ansel Adams
Glacier National Park, Montana
McDonald Lake, Glacier National Park
Burned, snow-cover area of Glacier National Park
Some photographers take reality… and impose the domination of their own thought and spirit. Others come before reality more tenderly and a photograph to them is an instrument of love and revelation. Ansel Adams
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
The Grand Canyon from the cliffs
The Grand Canyon from the cliffs
The Grand Canyon from the cliffs
When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence. Ansel Adams
Kings River Canyon, California, 1936
Coloseum Mountain
Boaring River, Kings Region
There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs. Ansel Adams
San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico, 1942
Native American Indian dance
Native American Indian dance
Native American Indian dance
There are no forms in nature. Nature is a vast, chaotic collection of shapes. You as an artist create configurations out of chaos. You make a formal statement where there was none to begin with. All art is a combination of an external event and an internal event… I make a photograph to give you the equivalent of what I felt. Equivalent is still the best word. Ansel Adams
Taos Pueblo, New Mexico
Full view of the city
Church at Taos Pueblo
The only things in my life that compatibly exists with this grand universe are the creative works of the human spirit. Ansel Adams
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Yellowstone Lake
Fountain Geyser Pool
It is my intention to present – through the medium of photography – intuitive observations of the natural world which may have meaning to the spectators. Ansel Adams
Yosemite, California, 1933
Half Dome, Apple Orchard, Yosemite
You don’t take a photograph, you make it. Ansel Adams
More Information about Ansel Adams
112 years after his birth, in March 2014, a collection of the groundbreaking artist’s personally-chosen photographs will be shown at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis.
Many more shots by the legendary photographer can be found on Ansel Adams’ page on the US National Archives website.
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