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BLACK AND WHITEBLACK AND WHITELearning to Study Photography and

Videography through

the Work of AnselAdams

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AnselAdams: A BiographyAnselAdams: A Biography

Ansel Easton Adams was an American photographer, mostknown for his black and white photographs of California's

Yosemite Valley. A commercial photographer for 30 years, hemade visionary photos of western landscapes that wereinspired by a boyhood trip to Yosemite. He won three

Guggenheim grants to photograph national parks (1944-58).Adams perfection for the craft inspired a trilogy of technicalinstruction manuals.

Adams was an environmentalist, and his photographs are arecord of what many of these national parks were like before

human intervention and travel.

His work has promoted many of the goals of the Sierra Club andbrought environmental issues to light. In 1966, he waselected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts andSciences. In 1980, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of

Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

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Elements of artElements of art

Principles of DesignThe organization of works of art. Theyinvolve the ways in which the elements ofart (line, scale, shape, texture, patterns,

etc.) are arranged (balance, contrast,dominance, emphasis, movement,repetition, rhythm, subordination,variation, unity).

Composition

Arrangement of the elements within theframe-the main subject, the foregroundand background, and supporting subjects.

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How has Adams made use of thecompositional elements of art andprinciples of design to emphasize the

changing nature of the landscape?How does this photograph accentuatethe process of land development and

either commercial or non-commercialbuilding while reinforcing the conceptof preservation?

Can photogra phy inf luence one s socialCan phot ogra phy influence one s social

or e nvironm ent al consciousness? How ?or e nvironm ent al consciousness? How ?

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Writ er s WorkshopW rit er s WorkshopToday, youll describe and interpret a series of

black and white photographs. As you do so,youll become more aware of the ways thatphotographers use the elements of art andthe principles of design to create meaning.

And youll also increase the depth anddescription of your writing!

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The White Church,

Hornitos, CA

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The White Church,The White Church, Hornitos,Hornitos,CACA

How does this photograph accentuate theprocess of land development and eithercommercial or non-commercial buildingwhile reinforcing the concept of

preservation?How do you feel about the publics generalinterest in preservation and respect forthe environment? Do you think AnselAdams has made a dramatic contributionto the future thinkers of society, in termsof a social-consciousness?

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The White Church,The White Church, Hornitos,Hornitos,CACA

In The White Church, Hornitos, CA, Adamsdepicts a church in the background of alandscape, which is overwrought andsurrounded with wood and metal fencesthat seem to zigzag around the terrain.Adams uses strong compositional forcewhile framing the church in thebackground of a jagged surroundinglandscape.

Ansel Easton AdamsAmerican, 1902-1984

The White Church, Hornitos, CASilver Gelatin Print, ca. 1946

Collection Museum of Photographic ArtsGift of Joseph Isaacson

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Mount McKinley, Alaska

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Mount McKinley, AlaskaMount McKinley, Alaska

InMount McKinley, Alaska, Adams captures the glory of an unhampered, serene,pure landscape. Adams hope was that he could influence with awareness, amore connected relationship to the wilderness and natural landscape, inhopes of restoring the realm of human thought and consciousness. Adamssaid, I am convinced, after only two visits to The Great Land, that Alaskais one of the most impressive reservoirs of beauty and wildness-an

inexhaustible resource for creative interpretation.

Can you imagine what this scene might look like if you were to see it today?Do you think it would look the same or different? Why?Does the image make you feel any notions of serenity and stillness, as the

photographer intended? If not, what does it make you feel?In what ways do you think Ansel Adams contributions to the Sierra Club andto the environment might have helped to preserve a place like Mt. McKinley?

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Winter Sunrise, Sierra Nevadafrom Lone Pine, CA

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Winter Sunrise, Sierra NevadaWinter Sunrise, Sierra Nevadafrom Lone Pine, CAfrom Lone Pine, CA

Winter Sunrise, Sierra Nevada from Lone Pine, CA, was an image taken 14,444feet above sea level and about 11,000 feet above a little town called LonePine. At the time of making this image, Ansel Adams noted that Lone Pinewas in its final days and that much of the remaining homes and ruralproperties had been bought up by investors from Los Angeles.

Lone Pine is also about fifteen miles south of Manzanar, the siteof one of World War IIs relocation camps. Ansel Adams oncesaid, In the early 1900s the expanding urbanith of LosAngeles sought water and reached more than three hundredmiles north to possess it, and the glistening bounty ofstreams flowing from the Sierra was channeled intoaqueducts and tunnels to the thirsty southland, and the

Owens Valley died a parched and dismal death.

Now practically all the water of the area flows to the homes andswimming pools of the City of Angels, and an Americantragedy is here for all who care to see.

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Winter Sunrise, Sierra NevadaWinter Sunrise, Sierra Nevadafrom Lone Pine, CAfrom Lone Pine, CA

How does this image prove to capture thepurity of a non-urbanized, unpollutedlandscape?After reading Adams quote about thisimage, what do you think about hisactions as an artist and an activist?

Do you regard this image as more thanjust a landscape, knowing what history

lies around it? If not, what do you regard itas?Do you think Adams was successful inconveying to the world what might be lost,

or is lost already? Why or why not?

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Refugio Beach

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Refugio BeachRefugio Beach

Refugio Beachwas taken in California in 1946. The image depicts a clean,unhampered beach scene of boulders, sand, water, and mountains in thebackground. The beach has a still and serene quality to it, almost as if youcan hear the water washing up on the shore.

What do you think this beach looks like today?

Are the beaches you have seen as clean and undeveloped as Refugio Beachlooked to Ansel Adams in 1946? What is the main source of pollution on thebeaches in your area? What efforts could be made to change the publicsviewpoint and general attitude of the worlds beaches and the cleanliness thatthey deserve?How does the composition of this image contribute to a general feeling ofappreciation and gratitude for the natural environmental landscape and the

preservation of it in truest form?

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You as social criticYou as social critic

What does it mean to be socially-conscious?How socially-conscious do you think you are?

What are some issues you would address if youwere assigned to use images to capture theessence of your issue of interest? Whatseries of images would you design toincrease social-consciousness andawareness?

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You as socially consciousYou as socially consciousblack and white photographerblack and white photographer

Narrow the list of topics that are ofinterest to you. Choose one or two.

How might you capture one or more of

these topics thematically through ablack and white photograph?

What considerations will you have tomake as a black and white

photographer? What subjects/ time of day/ locations

make for the best social commentaries?

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Adapted from materialsAdapted from materialsavailable atavailable at

Collaborative Arts Resources forEducation Center,wwwcarearts.org/lessons/ansel_adams_

american_artist.html

Thanks for sharing!