Ansel Adams

Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American photographer who was known for his landscape/nature photography. He was very interested in nature and this is shown in his photos. His photos usually have very fine focusing and he uses a large format camera.

PurposeThe purpose of his photos was to sell as art. Many of his photos compare nature with man made things. My interpretation of his photo meanings are nature going against man made things. He may have religious meanings in some of his photos, for example heaven and the earth.

Image AnalysisThis photo is of the roots of a large tree, the picture would have used a black and white film with a very sharp focus. The camera would have been put on top of a tripod to keep the camera steady, with the camera facing down slightly towards the roots. Long aperture and possibly long exposure time could have been used to make the picture look sharper under natural light.

Interpretation of meaning The meaning which could come from this photo is that nature can be very complex and abstract, the shapes which occur naturally in the roots of a tree are unpredictable and grow in ways that humans may not be able to comprehend. It could also be said that modern life has shaped itself on nature from years before. (The tree roots look similar to animals such as snakes or squids)

Image AnalysisIn this photo of a lake going through the mountains and the trees the camera would have used a black and white film for the picture and most probably had a small aperture with a long depth of field, this is to pick up the detail in the distance but also would have had fast shutter speed to capture everything in detail and prevent the ripples in the water looking blurry.

Interpretation of meaningThe meaning which perhaps is being portrayed in this photo is that nature is dominant over man made objects. The mountains which tower above everything else are naturally occurring objects as well as the river and trees. It could be said that these objects are much more beautiful and complex than anything made by man and therefore it should be appreciated more than it actually is.

Image AnalysisAgain the camera used to take this photo would have had a black and white film and small aperture with a long depth of field, this would be to capture all the small details in the photo clearly as well as capturing the overall image in a sharp and clear picture.

Interpretation of meaningI feel that there is a very strong theme of life and death in this photo, the meaning which could be getting carried across in the picture is life and how small it is compared to the rest of the earth. The small cemetery in the bottom right of the picture could possibly represent human life and the rest of the photo around the cemetery could represent the universe and how it is never ending.