Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs

 (23 customer reviews)

An essential book for all photography fans!In 1983, Ansel Adams picked 40 of his most memorable and diverse black and white photographs as examples of his work. For each one he wrote a brief essay that described the circumstances of deciding to photograph the subject, how he came to prepare for the photography, his companions, special challenges that occurred along the way, how he selected the composition, tricky light and shadow conditions encountered, technical details of how the image was captured (equipment, film speeds, settings, filters, lenses, etc.), technical details of printing the image, and the surprises he experienced. In the midst of all this, he shares his philosophy of life, nature, and the art of photography. It's like attending a master class with a genius. Even if you know nothing about photography, this book will open your eyes to new ways of seeing and experiencing the world around you. For those who love these images, the stories that accompany them...Read more

Forget "...every photographers library..." This should be in every library. It's one of the ten best books I've ever read. Yes, I'm an amateur photographer but this book is way deeper and of so much more value than just knowing which f-stop he used. This is a beautifully illustrated book of short stories chronicling the adventures of a master as he passionately pursues his craft. It's a love story with nature. If this book doesn't inspire you to climb a mountain or to sit beside a stream for a few hours, I don't know what will. If it also inspires you to photograph your little corner of creation, there's plenty of insight in these pages as well.

If you want to learn photography and you would prefer to learn (or supplement your learning) by intensive case study, this is the book for you. Ansel Adams is a master at controlling composition, light and perspective, and he conveys his unique methodology admirably in this book. This book covers much more than his epic landscapes -- there are a lot of still life, portrait and architectural case studies. And he's not just discussing the zone system, but also everything else involved, including packing the right equipment, leaving at the right time, and hunting down the right subject. And above all, patience and persistence. The photos themselves are reproduced with admirable tone, sharpness, and contrast, as they are in all the books in this series. And although there are only forty of them, each case study runs two or three pages in addition to a full page photo. And if you like this, check out Ansel Adams' classic three part intensive introduction to photography, in the same series...Read more