Envious

Ansel Adams has always been my favorite Artist and Photographer. If anyone ever asks me where I get inspiration, I automatically tell them that Ansel Adams is my number one inspiration for style and subject of my photography work. His images are simply breath taking.

Some of his work... 

This particular piece definitely stands out to me. In today's society, photographers are mostly digital and can rely on the tools of Photoshop so create images like this. Ansel Adams only uses film photography and the fact that such a breathtakingly crisp image is taken through film completely blows my mind. The way the clouds overtake the mountain, creating high contrast but still with simplicity is amazing. The mountains are perfectly placed in the image to draw your eye in from the left of the image and carry your eye all the way up into the sky to notice every part of the giant cloud. The clouds themselves look like fluffy mountains and counteract perfectly with the straight and pointed lines of the mountains. 

Ultimately, the high contrast of this image is what truly catches me eye and draws me in. Most of my artwork has very high contrast because I feel like it is what makes most images stand out and look the best. This particular image holds most of its contrast in the mountains but even the depth of the clouds and all of the different shadows create a very intense look. Although most of Ansel Adams' work is very high contrast, the way he captures the beauty of nature has a very peaceful and calm style to it. Overall, this image is flawless just like the rest of Ansel's work. 

This next image is also one of my favorite pieces that Ansel Adams has created. The fact that you can see every detail and ripple in the water creates such a serene and calming feeling to the image. Also, the reflection of the mountains into the water balances the image so that it is more visually capturing and interesting than if it was just a lake in front of some mountains. The way the mountains are places perfectly in the image to frame the lake shows that Adams took a very long time to place his camera in order to capture the best image possible. Like the rest of his images, it is very obvious that Adams took a lot of time and thought into creating this piece.

In the last piece I commented a lot on the contrast of the darks and lights in the image. This photo has a much different feel and does not have quite as much intense contrast as the other piece, but that does not take away from the value of the image whatsoever. I feel that with such a peaceful subject, the lower contrast ties the entire piece together. The clear distinction between the sky and the mountains and the lake still captures Ansel's style, but just in a more simplistic way. I think that variety in an artist's work is very important and Ansel does a really good job of creating that variety while still holding true to his work. 

Okay, come on now... This image is absolutely amazing. The first thing that comes to mind when I see this image is that I should just give up photography because there is no way I will ever capture something as spectacular and breathtaking as this image. This image captures the ultimate beauty of the world that we live in and all I want is to climb right into this photograph and go stand in the place where Ansel was standing when he took this image. When I first look at this image, my eye is automatically drawn to the bridge in the center of the piece. The way the man-made architecture is placed amongst the natural beauty of the world adds contrast but still works cohesively with the subject matter of this piece. The way the mountains are reflected perfectly into the motionless water and how the bridge separates the two is perfect placement by Adams.

This piece is the definition of high contrast and I am pretty much obsessed with it. I just so strongly admire how Adams can create such a high contrasting image without going overboard with it. The intense dark trees contrast the bright white mountains so perfectly and makes the image so crisp. It makes it look as if this image is 3D and you can just put your hand to it and feel the cold from the lake and the snow capped mountains. I believe that Ansel Adams is the master of photography and with images as spectacular as this one, that is a statement that can not be disapproved with. If one day I can capture an image that is half the amount of beauty that this image contains, I will have lived a complete life.