Al poco que te metes en el mundo de la fotografía empiezas a escuchar el nombre de Ansel Adams, uno de los fotógrafos más famosos del siglo pasado, sobretodo si te gusta la fotografía de paisaje. Me acuerdo que en este verano cuando estaba en Oxford, ojee varios libros de él en una librería, me quedé enamorado de su trabajo, unas fotos en blanco y negro increíbles. Pero mucho más increíble es que las sacaba con el material de aquella época (eso si que era pasión por la fotografía).
Este libro se centra en eso último, en la forma que Ansel se acercaba a cada fotografía, como la tomaba, y que pasaba en su mente en aquellos momentos. Bueno, mejor dicho, en lo que él se acuerda de que le pasaba por la cabeza en esos momentos.
De la contraportada
«How did you make this photograph?» This is the question that Ansel Adams was asked repeatedly during his lifetime. In this book, Adams shares the circumstances surrounding the making of many of his most celebrated photographs. Each of the 40 photographs are superbly reproduced in duotone, is accompanied by an entertaining and informative narrative that combines reminscence of people and places with precise recall of technical details and aesthetics considerations.
General readers will be fascinated by the personal side of the text, which includes a great deal of history and anecdote, including cameo appearances by Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O’Keeffe, Edward Weston, and many others. Reading these essays can be compared only to what it might have been like to stand by Ansel Adams’ side during some of the most profound and important creative moments of his life in photography – a master class with this legendary photographer.
The specific technical information on camera and lens, filters, exposure times, developing, and printing provided in each example illustrates his approach and methods and will assist amateur and professional photographers alike in learning the craft. Through this case study approach, Adams’ philosophy of craft and creativity unfolds: his credos of visualisation, image management, and the Zone System are demonstrated: and the colour story of a lifetime devoted to photography is revealed.
Ansel Adams is one of the great artist of the twentieth century. In a career spanning more than sixty years, he made thousands of photographs, many of which are icons in the history of photography. He has been honored with exhibitions at virtually every major museum in the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York, whose Department of Photography he helped found. Adams published dozens of books, both of this photographs and on photographic technique.
