Ansel Adams
[Photographer, b. 1902, San Francisco, d. 1984, Carmel, California.]
There are worlds of experience beyond the world of the aggressive man, beyond history, and beyond science. The moods and qualities of nature and the revelations of great art are equally difficult to define; we can grasp them only in the depths of our perceptive spirit.
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.
I respect everything in change and the solemn beauty of life and death. I believe man will obtain freedom of spirit of society, and therefore while man amidst the immense beauty of objective bodies, he must possess the capacity of self perfection and must observe and represent his world with full confidence. I believe photography is a tool to express our positive assessment of the world. A tool to acquire ultimate happiness and belief.
Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution.
All I can do in my writing is to stimulate a certain amount of thought, clarify some technical facts and date my work. But when I preach sharpness, brilliancy, scale, etc., I am just mouthing words, because no words can really describe those terms and qualities it takes the actual print to say, “here it is.”
I know some photographs that are extraordinary in their power and conviction, but it is difficult in photography to overcome the superficial power or subject; the concept and statement must be quite convincing in themselves to win over a dramatic and compelling subject situation.
In some [photographs] the essence of light and space dominate; in others, the substance of rock and wood, and the luminous insistence of growing things... It is my intention to present-through the medium of photography-intuitive observations of the natural world which may have meaning to spectators.
