Ansel Adams

[Actor]

Alex has asked me to post some more Ansel Adams quotes. Adams was, of course, a photographer, not a cinematographer. However, here are a few philosophical gems that transcend the static and the dynamic.

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The picture we make is never made for us alone; it is, and should be, a communication -- to reach as may people as possible without dilution of quality or intensity ... To the complaint "There are no people in these photographs," I respond, "There are always two people; the photographer and the viewer."

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With all my analysis of photography, there is still something quite incomprehensible to me about the photographic process. The physics of the situation are fearfully complex, but the miracle of the image is a triumph of the imagination. The most miraculous ritual of all is the combination of machine, mind, and spirit that brings forth images of great power and beauty.

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The next time you pick up a camera think of it not as an inflexible and automatic robot, but as a flexible instrument which you must understand to properly use. An electronic and optical miracle creates nothing on its own! Whatever beauty and excitement it can represent exist in your mind and spirit to begin with.

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There is something magical about the image formed by a lens. Surely every serious photographer stands in some awe of this miraculous device, which approaches ultimate perfection. A fine lens is evidence of a most advanced technology and craft. We must come to know intuitively what our lenses and other equipment will do for us, and how to use them.

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It has been said that photographic equipment represents one long chain of semi-frustration, and the tripod is one of the significant links!

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There is a great illusion among photographers that creative work depends upon equipment. On the contrary, equipment is something to be selected for a specific purpose.

[Alex]

"There is a great illusion among photographers that creative work depends upon equipment. On the contrary, equipment is something to be selected for a specific purpose."

-Ansel Adams

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This comment alone can generate a whole discussion. I think Ansel is saying don't ever believe that your equipment does all the work for you, and don't ever have a false sense of security because of the equipment you are using.

When I think of computer editing (NLE), I realize how abhorently opposite the non-linear/blue-screening/after-effects world of NLE is compared to Ansel Adams.

Perhaps one could argue that what Ansel did in the darkroom was no different than what todays video artist can do with Adobe Photoshop.

Ansel probably "dodged" and "burned" his own prints to make them appear how he wanted. But did Ansel double up a vista of trees, give a mountaintop a new "do" (as in hairdo), in the process taking what was real and making it surreal? I hope not. [img]eek.gif[/img] [img]eek.gif[/img]

Does that mean I hate the new computer stuff? Absolutely not.

What I do loathe is the idea that the new stuff "competes" next to the established stuff with no explanation.

Should steroid "enhanced" athletes forever compete against "natural" athletes? In my opinion, I wish both sides could exist and excel, but against each other, no, unless the differences were public knowledge.

I would love to live in a dual world, one where all enhancements are accepted in the name of science and progress, and another world where people create and improve "naturally", sans the additives. If you think my position has no merit, then consider this.

Why did Lucas and Spielberg BOTH redo their earlier works, changing and augmenting movies such as E.T. and Star Wars 20 years later??? [img]eek.gif[/img] [img]eek.gif[/img]

One answer is, nobody cares anymore when a movie was made. Assigning a time period to a piece and using it as an explanation for why it might have "limited" special effects is not easily done.

Suddenly, pioneering films such as Star Wars and E.T. don't look so pioneering. Or are they still pioneering efforts, and it's just their auteurs who have panicked?

Or were their stories too weak to pass the test of time, and these classics MUST be augumented to stay in demand?

[Greg Crawford]

On thing I personally like about "Actors," post is his understanding of the science along with his ability to see the worth of other art forms.

Ansel Adams ...you might now was a pianist and a good one, he compared the shooting of the picture with appropriate development with writing the score and the making of a fine print like the Performance.

His ability to VISUALIZE what the final print would look like and manipulate the laws of science to get the desired results are one of his many gifts to us...photographers and cinematographers alike.

Ansel "painted with light ." in printing, to created a print . He created the zone system as a way to "set" and "place" the gray values on the photograph scale at the location (zone) that would be most pleasing.

His simple tools included a light meter, 8 x 10 view camera , tripod, film holders, black and white filters . and for many years just contact printing his images.

( yes, I no Ansel used more than an 8 x 10 camera and had a very fine dark room. And did quite a bit of print manipulation, chemically and with dodging and burning. But ultimately it was his ability to VISUALIZE, that made him grate. And judging by his own writings, his background in music was a strong influence in his life. )

Thank you ACTOR for reminding us.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ December 28, 2002 04:59 PM: Message edited by: bossjock-dp ]</font>

[Alex]

Ansel Adams at 100. There's a two page article in the Los Angeles Daily News Sunday Edition LA Life Entertainment Weekend Section about Ansel Adams.

Plus, there is an Ansel Adams exhibit at the....

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

noon to 8pm (edit note* I'm not sure which days this is for)

Mondays Tuesday and Thursdays, noon to 9pm

Fridays 11am to 8pm.

Saturdays and Sundays through May 11

Tickets $10.00-15.00, free for children age 17 and under. (323) 857-6000 or go to

http://www.lacma.org