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Ansel
Adams (1902-1984), whose photographs of the
western United States landscape, particularly
those of the magnificent Yosemite Valley, have
been etched into the consciousness of several
generations. But, as with many great artists,
his work has perhaps been overexposed, reaching
that condition where familiarity tends to dilute
its impact. And, too, at a time when taste in
art runs to edgier styles and urban angst, rather
than to more traditional landscape or (dare
it be said?) spiritual content, Adams' work
is ripe for reassessment.
He is a true artist and not simply a photographer.
He would spend a whole day at a time perfecting
one of his images through the printing process.
It is not sufficient to claim that he only captured
what he could see with his eye, but through
his dodging and burning techniques he could
see a landscape in front of him and know to
what degree it would need manipulation in the
dark room. Today, many people involved in video
refer to this technique as shooting to edit.
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