Ansel Adams: Classic Images

by Ansel Adams, James Alinder, John Szarkowski

A beautiful collection of Adams' work, hand-picked by himself--a last statement portfolio to represent his life's work. 76 duotones.

Genres: Photography, Art, Nonfiction, Art Design, Nature, Art and Photography, Biography

111 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

People note black-and-white photographs of the American wilderness of American photographer Ansel Easton Adams.

Though wilderness and the environment were his grand passions, photography was his calling, his metier, his raison d'etre.

From: Ansel Adams, Photographer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansel_A...

Reviews

[J.D. Steens · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with other Adams’ photo collections, a few leap out. Many do not. Overall, the photos are simple, clean, void of noise. I like the pure natural scenes, without people, and the way he captured, for example, the aspens (plate # 63) and the lone animal in the distant light (# 78). The winnowing woman at the Taos Pueblo (#4) is more nature than person. In the picture of the “Spanish American Woman” (# 17), the face is striking, as is the photo title; the composition is perfectly balanced, even with the photo’s minimalist context. In the O’Keefe and Orville Cox (head wrangler at Ghost Ranch) photo (#14), the two of them parallel each other perfectly, like a river and its bank. The photo of Golden Gate before the bridge (#11), while ok as picture content, was interesting. I never thought of that place without the bridge.

When the introduction says that Adams’ photos were the “visual equivalents to American values: a great democratic country, with wide, sweeping landscapes of grandeur and majesty,” I wonder if too much is read into these photos.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm so happy to have gotten this book as a gift. While the text is not lengthy, it does give an excellent primer on the life of the photographer. I suspect many people see the name and think something like, "Oh, yes. Tree pictures..." and then move on. Well, the essay in here gave me a lot more things to dig up and sink my teeth into.

If you're looking for a quick hit of biography, just enough to get you interested, and you can get a copy of this book, I recommend that you do.

[Herman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful picture book of Ansel Adams's word. Although the text was very helpful and well written and offered a very good and concise bio of Ansel, I wish that there was more information about the background of the individual plates in the book. Overall, a fascinating insight into this great artist.

[Blair Hoyle]

Look, are there some incredible landscape shots here? Obviously. (Vernal Fall, Moonrise, Siesta Lake, and Orchard are stunning.) Do I prefer Ansel Adams photos of humans? ...I think I might. Trailer Camp Children and Georgia O'Keeffe and Orville Cox are my favorite photographs in this collection.

[Nenad Knezevic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely essay on Adams' life and works, followed by a representative collection of his photographs. A nice introductory volume to the great artist.

[Will Flewelling · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to be ansel adams when i grow up

[w gall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing b & w pics plus his story

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the titled indicates, this book is a collection of Ansel Adams' classic photographs. Since I had heard of this great American photographer but had no idea who he was or what his work was about, I decided to check out this book from the library. For me, I appreciated learning about Adams' family history, as well as how his passion for photography evolved from a hobby towards a lifelong vocation. After paging through this book several times, it is my opinion that Adams' photographic work really is masterful and artful. I hope to find other titles by or about Adams from which to learn from.

[Cody Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

phenomenal composition

[Serge Pierro · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic collection of Ansel Adams photographs. Amazing landscape photography.