Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984)
A good photograph is knowing where to stand.
A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense and is, thereby, a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety.
A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.
A photograph is not an accident — is a concept. It exists at, or before, the moment of exposure of the negative.
A photograph is usually looked at but seldom looked into.
A true photograph need not be explained, nor can it be contained in words.
Dodging and burning are steps to take care of mistakes God made in establishing tonal relationships.
I have often thought that if photography were difficult in the true sense of the term — meaning that the creation of a simple photograph would entail as much time and effort as the production of a good watercolor or etching — there would be a vast improvement in total output. The sheer ease with which we can produce a superficial image often leads to creative disaster.
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!
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.
It is my intention to present – through the medium of photography – intuitive observations of the natural world which may have meaning to the spectators.
Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer, and often the supreme disappointment.
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.
Not everybody trusts paintings but people believe photographs.
Notebook. No photographer should be without one!
Photography is an austere and blazing poetry of the real.
Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art.
Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution.
Simply look with perceptive eyes at the world about you, and trust to your own reactions and convictions. Ask yourself: “Does this subject move me to feel, think and dream? Can I visualize a print — my own personal statement of what I feel and want to convey — from the subject before me?
Sometimes I do get to places just when God’s ready to have somebody click the shutter.
The negative is the equivalent of the composer’s score and the print the performance.
The sheer ease with which we can produce a superficial image often leads to creative disaster.
The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it.
The term accessories has come to include a host of photographic gadgets of questionable value…
There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.
There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.
There are two people in every photograph: the photographer and the viewer.
There is nothing worse than a brilliant image of a fuzzy concept.
To the complaint, ‘There are no people in these photographs,’ I respond, ‘There are always two people: the photographer and the viewer.
Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop.
We make images to “honor what is greater and more interesting than we are.
We must remember that a photograph can hold just as much as we put into it, and no one has ever approached the full possibilities of the medium.
When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.
You don’t take a photograph, you make it.
