THOUGHTS ON PHOTOGRAPHY

THOUGHTS ON PHOTOGRAPHY - ANSEL ADAMS
[Nov 30, 2015]




So this is my first posting in my new blog.  I was thinking a lot what to post because it would (and should) point in the direction this blog will (and should) go. If you are into photography you for sure can't go past someone like Ansel Adams (at least not if you are a photographer from my generation). Over the 40 years of my career as a photographer I have collected a lot of quotes by this great (landscape-)photographer. Most of them where quite heartening and helpfully, especially in times of doubts and uncertainty on one's own work so it is deemed appropriate to look a little bit closer on some of his remarks. Because it is not only the gear one is using which is the foundation of a good photograph. There is so much more behind all technical aspects and theories of photography. In my oppinion in a (still to be written) "Photographer's Bibel" Ansel Adam's thought will have a very prominent place...

“You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”

“A true photograph need not be explained, nor can it be contained in words.” 

“A photograph is usually looked at – seldom looked into.”

There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.

“The negative is the equivalent of the composer’s score, and the print the performance.”

“No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit.”

There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.


Also in my photographer's life I didn't model myself on Ansel Adams (partly because I got the feeling that he didn't develop further and was in the end to much obsessed with the darkroom techniques) nonetheless every single quote has been a good guideline...

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