12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ansel Adams Remains the Master, November 29, 2005
This review is from: Ansel Adams 2006 Wall Calendar (Calendar)
Ansel Adams remains, without question, the greatest modern master of the American landscape photograph. The only reason that I include the word "modern" in that sentence is because there were other photographers that came before Ansel whose mastery will never be usurped: Timothy O'Sullivan (1840-1882), William Henry Jackson (1843-1942) and Charles L. Weed (1824-1903). There is no doubt that Adams would give equal credit to those amazing pioneers. I'm sure he would also acknowledge other modern masters, including the almost forgotten Laura Gilpin (1891-1979), perhaps the greatest woman landscape shooter ever.
But Adams remains unequalled in the modern American landscape. In fact, he is so far distant from the rest of the pack that it's hard to think of anyone to compare him to other than, perhaps, Edward Weston. There are lots of fantastic nature photographers out there, no doubt, but when it comes to the pure landscape, Adams has a lock.
Also, Adams contributions to the teaching of photo technqiue have given him a second realm of fame for a whole generation of photographers. How-to photo writers (including myself) look to Adams' books as the model to follow. Because of his humanity, his endless generous sharing of knowledge and his encouraging writing, Adams' books remain the best how-to literature in the history of photography. If only Adams had lived to spend time with digital cameras, we would certainly have been gifted with another great volume on their use, I'm sure (in his autobiography, in fact, he talks about future generations of printers using scanners to create digital versions of his own negatives).
As a writer of more than a dozen how-to books, I often turn to Adams' work (both his writings and his photos) for ideas and inspiration. Which brings us to his caldendars: It would be impossible for me to think of having a writing or photo office without an Adams calendar on the wall. I don't always agree with the photos that are chosen for the annual wall calendar, but the fact is, Adams never published a bad photograph (or even a mediocre one as far as I'm concerned), so whether I like each one or not is not that important--I always learn something from them.
Ansel Adams photos are as good as contemporary landscape photography gets. And while I'm afraid that because he worked in black and white more than in color (though he was an excellent color photographer) his work might seem dated to a lot of photo students today, it's not. I never grow tired of looking at this work and it always seems fresh to me--and that in itself is quite amazing.
If you're a photo student or just love the look of the black and white American landscape, these caldenars will always provide good company. The problem is that the photos are so nice I have trouble throwing them away at the end of the year--and they take up a lot of room! :)
I don't know if another photographer will ever come along and achieve the fame that Adams achieved, but if one does, he or she will have surely studied the photography and writing of Ansel Adams for a long, long time.
Jeff Wignall
Author, The Joy of Digital Photography (Lark Books)
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good job Amazon, January 1, 2006
This review is from: Ansel Adams 2006 Wall Calendar (Calendar)
Amazon.com does things right. The calendar arrived ahead of schedule, the day before 2006, just like I like. It was packaged superiorly, absolutely pristine. The calendar is beautiful and I appreciate Amazon's service.
Happy New Year,
Josh
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