Ansel Adams
Notebook. No photographer should be without one!
Not everybody trusts paintings but people believe photographs.
Myths and creeds are heroic struggles to comprehend the truth in the world.
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.
Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer - and often the supreme disappointment.
It is my intention to present - through the medium of photography - intuitive observations of the natural world which may have meaning to the spectators.
It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment.
In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration.
In some photographs the essence of light and space dominate; in others, the substance of rock and wood, and the luminous insistence of growing things. It is my intention to present-through the medium of photography-intuitive observations of the natural world which may have meaning to spectators.
In my mind's eye, I visualize how a particular... sight and feeling will appear on a print. If it excites me, there is a good chance it will make a good photograph. It is an intuitive sense, an ability that comes from a lot of practice.
I tried to keep both arts alive, but the camera won. I found that while the camera does not express the soul, perhaps a photograph can!
I know some photographs that are extraodrinary in their power and conviction, but it is difficult in photography to overcome the superficial power or subject; the concept and statement must be quite convincing in themselves to win over a dramatic and compelling subject situation.
I am probably afraid that some spectator will not understand my photography - therefore I proceed to make it really less understandable by writing defensibly about it.
Dodging and burning are steps to take care of mistakes God made in establishing tonal relationships.
Both the grand and the intimate aspects of nature can be revealed in the expressive photograph. Both can stir enduring affirmations and discoveries, and can surely help the spectator in his search for identification with the vast world of natural beauty and the wonder surrounding him.
A true photograph need not be explained, nor can it be contained in words.
A photograph is usually looked at - seldom looked into.
A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.
A good photograph is knowing where to stand.