Photo Quotes ArchiveQuotes by Ansel Adams (32 quotes)
"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence."
"Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution."
"A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed, and is, thereby, a true manifestation of what one feels about life in its entirety..."
"I hope that my work will encourage self expression in others and stimulate the search for beauty and creative excitement in the great world around us."
"To the complaint, 'There are no people in these photographs,' I respond, 'There are always two people: the photographer and the viewer.' "
"Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art."
"It is my intention to present - through the medium of photography - intuitive observations of the natural world which may have meaning to the spectators."
"I have often thought that if photography were difficult in the true sense of the term--meaning that the creation of a simple photograph would entail as much time and effort as the production of a good watercolor or etching--there would be a vast improvement in total output. The sheer ease with which we can produce a superficial image often leads to creative disaster."
"The negative is the equivalent of the composer's score, and the print the performance. Each performance differs in subtle ways."
"I believe the approach of the artist and the approach of the environmentalist are fairly close in that both are, to a rather impressive degree, concerned with the 'affirmation of life'."
"Black and white photography is truly quite a 'departure from reality', and the transition from one aspect of visual magic to another was not as complete as many imagine."
"When I'm ready to make a photograph, I think I quite obviously see in my minds eye something that is not literally there in the true meaning of the word. I'm interested in something which is built up from within, rather than just extracted from without."
"Dodging and burning are steps to take care of mistakes God made in establishing tonal relationships."
"I eagerly await new concepts and processes. I believe that the electronic image will be the next major advance. Such systems will have their own inherent and inescapable structural characteristics, and the artist and functional practitioner will again strive to comprehend and control them."
"For me the future of the image is going to be in electronic form ... You will see perfectly beautiful images on an electronic screen. And I'd say that would be very handsome. They would be almost as close as the best reproductions."
"A good photograph is knowing where to stand."
"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs."
"A photograph is usually looked at - seldom looked into."
"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration."
"The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it."
"Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer - and often the supreme disappointment."
"When I’m ready to make a photograph, I think I quite obviously see in my minds eye something that is not literally there in the true meaning of the word. I’m interested in something which is built up from within, rather than just extracted from without."
"Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter. "
"There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept."
"Simply look with perceptive eyes at the world about you, and trust to your own reactions and convictions. Ask yourself: "Does this subject move me to feel, think and dream? Can I visualize a print - my own personal statement of what I feel and want to convey - from the subject before me?""
"The technique of 35mm photography appears simple. One is beguiled by the quick viewing and operation, and by the very questionable inclination to make many pictures with the hope that some will be good."
"You don't take a photograph, you make it."
"The craft of photography is the key to good images."
Source: Jay, Bill. "Album", LensWork, Issue 75, Page 83.
Photography > Technique Quote #499
"Image quality is not the product of a machine, but of the person who directs the machine, and there are no limits to imagination and expression."
"I knew my destiny when I first experienced Yosemite."
Source: "Ansel Adam's Yosemite", The New York Times, April 27, 2008
Photography > Photographer Quote #540
"The great rocks of Yosemite, expressing qualities of timeless yet intimate grandeur, are the most compelling formations of their kind. We should not casually pass them by, for they are the very heart of the earth speaking to us."
Source: Commentary of Andrea G. Stillman (former assistant to Ansel Adams). "Ansel Adams's Yosemite", The New York Times, April 27, 2008.
Uncategorized > Uncategorized Quote #541
"It is just as important to bring people the evidence of the beauty of the world of nature and of man as it is to give them a document of ugliness, squalor, and despair."
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