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Ansel Adams Reflection

Page history last edited by Caroline R 14 years, 6 months ago

(I used option 2)

 

The photography of Ansel Adams is something many have tried to replicate, but have never succeeded. Ansel Adams is considered one of the masterminds of what we know of as "digital art" today.  By digital art, I mean photography.   In my opinion, one of his greatest works has to be his photo, "Eagle Peak and Middle Brother". By looking at the photo multiple times, I disproved a claim "A black and white photo, framed and carefully shot by a master photographer, does not capture what is really in nature" by unveiling the different details Ansel Adams presents in the photo as well as a possible reference Ansel Adams was trying to reveal.

 

The object in the foreground and the first thing I saw were the trees.  The trees have a similar look to christmas trees and have a large amount of pine needles.   Even though the picture was in black in white, I found myself observing and writing down how green the trees were.  It was like Ansel Adams was taking the photograph and I was the camera because even though the the printed photo was black and white, the camera still would see the color in the scenery.  The trees also had a lack of dense blankets of snow that were covering the peaks located in the background.  This gives the feeling the trees are alive and they are closer to the bottom of the peak because the majority of the snow would have been caught on different things at higher altitudes.  

 

Ansel Adams has keen perception for perspective and plays with it in this photo.  The perspective is very enticing for the eye.  Because the viewer is able to see the top of the tree, the viewer thinks the peak is not as big as it probably is and completely conquerable. Similar to the tree, the cloud also changes the perspective of the viewer.  It gives the feeling that the photo was "photoshopped".  It seems as Ansel Adams took the photo of the trees, took the photo of the peak and merged them together and used the clouds to cover up the line from the two photos.  The cloud also gives the photo some ambiguity. The viewer does not know where the Ansel Adams took the photo. Thus, the viewer is does not know where Ansel Adams is taking the photo and the peak's height in relation to the height of the tree.

 

Adams also finds ways to keep certain details and omit others.  For instance, the viewer can see all of the pine needles on the tree.  On the contrary, there are also no "lines" on the peak. The "lines" could be ridges or ski slopes.  These "lines" make you eye work harder to get to the top, which make the peak appear taller.  Because there are none of the "lines", the peak subsequently appears smaller. 

 

After having thought about the picture multiple times, I began to think if the picture could have any similarities to a story from the Bible.  I found the picture to depict the story of David and Goliath. The tree can symbolize David and the peak can symbolize Goliath.  In the story, David, who is an average size man, kills Goliath, who is a giant.  In the story, the people that watched David overtake Goliath forgot about David's size because of what they had just witnessed. In this picture, even though the tree is supposed to be much smaller than the peak, Ansel Adams makes the tree almost identical in size and the viewer forgets about the peak possibly being exponentially larger than tree.  

 

The claim some people have made, "A black and white photo, framed and carefully shot by a master photographer, does not capture what is really in nature" , seems under researched and unqualified.  When I looked at the photo, I visualized green trees.  I never even saw the picture as black and white.  It took me 2 and 3 looks to realize it was black and white.  When I searched for the photo on the internet to be able to look at it more, I thought I had the wrong picture, because in my mind, the trees were green.  Ansel Adams includes many details, no matter how minute, to enhance the photo such as the little pine needles, the snowy peaks, and the cloud that is sitting in the middle of the picture.  Ansel Adams captures every detail in nature down to the smallest pine needle.

Comments (6)

Joe Essid said

at 5:22 pm on Sep 26, 2009

You make a powerful claim in the end of this piece, one referenced early on as you keep seeing the trees as green, as if Adams had tricked your eyes.

The piece will be stronger, however, if you integrate the David/Goliath claim better. I don't understand how it builds your case made in the first and last paragraphs, that Adams' image really does capture what exists in nature.

Overall, however, this seems a promising draft that needs polishing.

Specific concerns:

--"Ansel Adams is considered one of the masterminds of what we know of as "digital art" today." I find that a bit humorous, since Adams died in 1984, the year that the Mac rolled out and long before household Internet became popular. In what sense, then, is the claim valid?

--"even though the . " Be sure to finish this sentence. Or is it a word-processing fossil, left from an earlier draft? Read aloud the paragraph.

--"One of the most interesting things about the photo are the trees." This sentence does not seem like a strong topic, because you focused so much already on details about the trees. What new area of the trees will you next consider? Be sure the claim covers that.

--"Having trees that seem alive and have very little snow on their location seem" CHECK that last word. What is the subject? Singular? Plural? Watch out for the subject-verb agreement Peeve of mine. The same potential error occurs in "The fog or cloud, similar to the trees change the perspective of the viewer."

--I don't understand what the "lines" on the peak might be? Ski-runs? roads? Open that suitcase for your reader.

emily.schworer@richmond.edu said

at 4:09 pm on Sep 29, 2009

Caroline,

Even though this is still a draft, I still have some feedback for you.

I can see the point of departure by the conclusion paragraph you have even though you have not made the thesis statement yet. This claim should be part of your thesis of course. However, I am left wondering though why the claim "seems under researched and unqualified". What other than you visualizing the trees as green makes the picture capture nature? Are you going to talk about how the different elements are like nature? Just because some of the parts are interesting, can they translate to how they are involved in capturing nature?

emily.schworer@richmond.edu said

at 3:34 pm on Oct 1, 2009

Also, make sure in your introduction you watch out for the number of times you use the word "is"!

emily.schworer@richmond.edu said

at 11:16 pm on Oct 1, 2009

In looking at your thesis statement "By looking at the photo multiple times, I was able to disprove a claim that said a master photographer can not capture what is really in nature.", I would change the "was"...maybe to just "I disprove a claim"?

Also I would map out where the next paragraphs will take you in the thesis so the reader knows where you are going. Dr. Essid told me to do this to mine and it really helped!
-Emily

emily.schworer@richmond.edu said

at 11:32 pm on Oct 1, 2009

Much better thesis : )....i might put the quotes in on the claim about the master photographer can not capture what is really in nature...it makes the thesis less confusing to read.

Joe Essid said

at 5:27 pm on Oct 9, 2009

Emily, you are a great commentator! I hope your group "gives back" in equal measure! Thanks for helping Caroline improve the project. I know she is thankful :)

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