Ansel Adams’ Yosemite

I’m always happy to receive photography books as gifts. It doesn’t matter if that is for Christmas, a birthday, or just because. Christmas 2022, I received a few books as gifts, and then promptly went out to Barns & Nobel and bought a few more during their post-Christmas half-off all hardbacks sale.

Photography books are a great way to get out of your own photography head-space, and see what others have done. They are great for inspiration, can help you stop making excuses, and provide such a different experience than spending 2 or 3 seconds per photo, as we scroll through 100s or 1000s of images online.

One of the books I received this year was Ansel Adams’ Yosemite: The Special Edition Prints. It is a beautiful book packed with stunning images. Even if you are not a landscape photographer (which I’m not), Ansel Adams’ photos are a magnificent study of beauty, detail, and tonal range.

As someone who struggles with creating even marginal black-and-white photographs on a computer, it is amazing to think about the totality of his work being done on glass plates and processed by hand in a darkroom. This is not a film vs digital argument, this is a recognition of his talent, dedication, and total mastery of the profession.

Regarding dedication, according to Pete Souza, in his Forward, Adams first set foot in Yosemite in 1916 and returned every year of his life, a life which came to an end in 1984.

This book covers the entire gambit of work in Yosemite, not just Adams’ trademark epic landscape photos. In addition to those, you’ll find magnificent waterfalls, lakes, wind-sculpted rocks and trees, stark images of winter, and close-up images of grass and leaves.

Ansel Adams’ Yosemite is a great book and makes a great gift for anyone who loves photography.

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