1.- Ansel Adams – 52 Week Challenge

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Through the Lens of Ansel Adams

For my personal photography challenge, I decided to explore the work of different artists, either by taking a new photo or revisiting existing ones that represent their styles. This allows me to dive into various techniques and push myself out of my comfort zone. My first artist of choice is Ansel Adams, an iconic American landscape photographer and environmentalist, best known for his stunning black-and-white images of the American West, particularly Yosemite National Park.

Early Life and Education

Mainstream education often feels like a factory system—you go in and out, learn what’s on the curriculum, and are rarely encouraged to question it. If you have other interests, struggle to retain information, or don’t fit the mould, you can get left behind. I personally felt this way at school, struggling with exams, subjects I couldn’t retain, and lessons I’ve never needed since. Now, as a teaching assistant in a special education school, I see how a more personalised approach helps children find paths that suit their interests and strengths. It’s an approach I believe all schools should adopt.

Ansel Adams had his own struggles with school. Rejected from multiple private schools due to ‘restlessness and inattentiveness,’ he was described as hyperactive and a hypochondriac. His father took charge and decided to home-educate him with private tutors when he was 12. Adams’s Aunt Mary, a follower of Robert G. Ingersoll, instilled beliefs in him that shaped his views on civil rights and social justice. These influences likely played a big role in his life. Since ADHD and similar conditions weren’t as understood back then as they are today. I often wonder how different Adams’s life might have been if he were born in today’s world.

Introduction to Photography

At the age of 14, Adams’s father gave him an Eastman Kodak Brownie Box camera during a family trip to Yosemite National Park. Reflecting on that moment, Adams wrote, “There was light everywhere… A new era began for me.”

Sadly, Adams’s mother didn’t approve of his photography career. Following the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, financial pressures were felt, and she thought the arts weren’t a stable career choice. However, his father was supportive and encouraged Adams to pursue his passion.

”The splendor of Yosemite burst upon us and it was glorious…. One wonder after another descended upon us…. There was light everywhere…. A new era began for me.”

– Ansel Adams writing about his first view of the valley.

Career and Innovations

In the mid-1920s, pictorialism was the dominant photographic style, soft focus and diffused light for a ‘painting-like’ effect. Adams, however, took a different approach. He believed that photography should embrace sharp focus and capture the full tonal range of an image.

In 1932, Adams co-founded Group f/64 with Edward Weston, Imogen Cunningham, and others, which challenged the pictorialist style. The group advocated for using a small aperture setting, f/64, to maximise depth of field and ensure crisp, detailed images—hallmarks of modernist photography.

Between 1939 and 1940, Adams taught at the Art Center School in Los Angeles, where he collaborated with portrait photographer Fred Archer to develop the Zone System. This technique, based on sensitometry, helped photographers control exposure and tonal contrast to produce images with precise detail and clarity.

Landmark Work: Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico

One of Adams’s most celebrated photographs is Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico (1941). The image captures a bright moon rising above a village with snow-capped mountains in the background. This iconic photograph is now valued at over $25 million for original prints.

Later Years and Legacy

In the later stages of his career, Adams co-founded Aperture magazine, which showcased the best in the field of photography and became a major influence for many generations of photographers.

Adams passed away in 1984 at the age of 82 due to cardiovascular disease, and his ashes were scattered in Yosemite National Park, where his passion for photography first began.

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My Take on Ansel Adams’s Photography

Inspired by Ansel Adams, I decided to try and recreate one of my coloured photos with the technique of the Zone System. I found a landscape photograph that I took a long time ago of the majestic volcano Teide in Tenerife.

After looking into Ansel Adams’s life and work, I wanted to try myself to recreate an image using the Zone System. I chose an image I took of Teide, a volcano in Tenerife, and edited it in Lightroom with Adams’s approach in mind.

I really focused on the contrast and tonal range, like Adams did in his landscapes. In Lightroom, I played around with the highlights, shadows, and midtones to bring out the details in the volcanic landscape.

What I thought was incredible in Adams’s work was how he captured every tiny detail with sharp focus and clarity, and I aimed to bring that same precision to my own editing. The goal was to keep all the details in both the light and dark areas, giving the photo that same sharpness and balance Adams was known for, but still keeping my own style in the mix.

Here is the final image:

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Personal Reflection

I’d never heard about Ansel Adams before this challenge, but I’ve really enjoyed getting to know his work and his story. I’ve found a lot of parallels between his style and my own, especially with monochrome photography, which is probably my favourite way to capture moments.

I do find myself softening my images sometimes, giving them that ‘painterly’ feel, but I think Adams’s approach of sharpening everything and bringing out all the details is so powerful. There’s something really beautiful about making sure every bit of the image is crisp and clear.

I’m excited to keep exploring the Zone System and to see how I can incorporate it into my work moving forward.

Here are a few photos I’ve taken in the past where I feel you can see the influence of the concepts that Ansel Adams believed in.

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