Ansel Adams Today

By Ken "Max" Parks

February 22, 2011

Recently, I did a photo-shoot at Callaway Gardens and came away with one image that closely represented a photo that Ansel Adams might be proud to exhibit. The image was converted to black and white with NIK software, Silver Efex Pro. A slight vignette was added along with a contrast and exposure adjustments of the highlight, shadows and dark areas.

I posted the same image on my facebook account. By doing so, I was testing the water, to get a feel for what other photographers had to say. I suggested that had Ansel Adams been around today "...he'd be shooting with a Hasselblad H4d and his darkroom would be Photoshop and various plug-ins. And he would be the master over Scott Kelby."

One amateur photographer commented, "Well, that maybe a bit presumptuous. I would like to think he would still be old school. It's old school that you learn how the zone system works. I sure did have a lot more fun printing my own pics. Anybody can edit in Photoshop."

Like most within this classification, amateurs have not indulged themselves into the study of photography and reading the books of Ansel Adams. In so doing, most amateurs have a tendency to aimlessly shoot away, wander off with no purpose, and not practice the basics of visualization, composition, lighting and subject matter. I have seen the works of a few amateurs that border on semi-pro or professional level. And in that case, most of these promising amateurs seem to lack the inspiration and perspiration to pursue a higher goal of consistency.

Perhaps this explains why many amateurs purport. "I would like to become a professional photographer" and yet they fail to set goals and plan the necessary steps. Proteges often fall to the wayside, not wanting to be bluntly critiqued. In the real world, editors and clients can be fussy and cruel in delivering their critiques. That's why a good mentor would tell it like it is instead of sugar coating and giving empty accolades.

Ansel Adams passed away in 1984. We have his prints, books, and contributions to the world of photography. These are his left behind treasures, images and quotes to embrace as he remains a mentor in spirit to those of us who aspire to learn and achieve the same level of photography.

When I engage an amateur photographer in a discussion of landscape photography, I usually bring up the subject of the "zone system and see how he/she responds. If they are quizzical, then I know they are not aware of Ansel Adams' bread and butter approach to post processing.

The misconception in the statement, "Anybody can edit in Photoshop" is based on the ability and desire of the individual to learn, practice, make mistakes, and then eventually become adept to the use of Photoshop. Most amateurs are not willing to sacrifice their time to obtain such hefty goals. Instead, they are reluctant to learn the difficult methods of Photoshop in favor of a quick and easy approach.

The amateur claims, "It's old school that you learn how the zone system works. Another misconception! I know Photoshop well enough to emulate the "zone system" with the separate adjustments of highlights, shadows and dark areas. The tonality of any image can be adjusted with an application such as HDR Efex Pro. another NIK plug-in software.

Ansel Adams was an innovator and refiner of the art of photography. I'm sure he would see the full advantages of digital photography and apply it to its full capabilities. I think he would explore and find new ways to use Photoshop (darkroom on the desktop). His digitally enhanced images would be welcomed by publishers and other photographer alike. Ansel would put his cameras of the past in an antique display case and embrace a camera like the Hasselblad H4d, something that would give him a RAW file of 60 mega-pixels.

More than 30 years ago, I shot with a Rollei TLR and a Voigtlander system. Those cameras of the past sit on my book shelves collecting dust as antiques. If I used those cameras today, I would be laughed at. I've been shooting with the Canon EOS 7D system and haven't shot film in more than 7 years.

Yet the amateur photographer expressed his opinion that Ansel would use his old 4x5 bellow camera and apply " old school" technology. We can only resort to what Ansel claimed about the future of photography. In his book, "The Negative," he wrote, "I eagerly await new concepts and processes. I believe that the electronic image (digital photography) will be the next major advance. "

So much for "old school"

Hidden Winter Destination in Atlanta

By Ken "Max" Parks
Examiner.com Writer/Photographer
January 10, 2011

About 35 miles north of Atlanta is a small town of seemingly little importance. However, it has a hidden treasure in a very modern museum and an opportunity for Atlanta travelers to visit. The Booth Western Museum in Cartersville has been the temporary host of the best photographic displays ever produced, an Ansel Adams collection.

The “Ansel Adams: A Legacy” exhibit is a collection of his finest prints made from his California darkroom. The 130 prints were produced by the master of photography during the 1960s and 70s when he was at the pinnacle of his superior skills.

These prints are exactly the way he wanted them displayed; they were not produced from an assistant or cropped by a publishing editor. That's what makes them unique. Ansel Adams rendered the artisitc prints from negatives which he considered to be a sketching pad. He applied the mastery of the darkroom to create images that continue to amaze photographers and artist to this very day. Surprisingly, the manipulation of his darkroom craft is very similar to the digital post-production of software applications such as Photoshop.

The people of the digital generation may be disillusioned about the Ansel Adams process of creativity. The same have never fumbled with a roll of film while stretching the plastic across the tracks in the back of a camera on a cold wintry day. They will discover the darkroom mock-up at the museum was the way Ansel Adams invented the “Zone System.” He fabricated the coding of dark and light gradations with dodging and burn-in techniques of his magic-wands.

Some may claim that Adams was a purist and that the images were exactly what came out of his box-type cameras. Instead, we find that his artistic renditions were the ingenuity of his darkroom wizardry, the power of a illusion mixed in his caldron of creativity. Perhaps this can be said, “His work-flow from the shutter release to the chemical processes and techniques in the darkroom show the true genius of Ansel Adams.”

The “Ansel Adams: A Legacy” exhibit and entry to the Booth Western Museum cost is $10 for general admission and is open through February 20, 2011.