What would Ansel Adams do? This question is being worked over a lot in the popular photo mags like Outdoor Photographer, and the trend seems to be picking up speed lately. It’s always an interesting question to consider, especially since he liked to innovate and experiment to improve the quality of his work. I’ve always been an admirer and enjoy learning about his life and techniques. Adams devoted his entire life to the art and profession of photography, as well as advocacy for conservation and the national parks system. It’s no wonder so many people try to recreate the content or feel of his work. He is an inspiration.
But, seeing his name so much lately gives me pause and I have to ask myself this: do I want to be like Ansel Adams? Could I remotely, in my wildest imagination, come close to the compositional, technical and artistic quality that he achieved? What would this accomplish? Is it realistic? Does it even make any sense? Adams was a visionary by doing things and going places with photography that no one had done before. His images are iconic, but not because of their location or processing techniques. They stand on their own because the product is more than the sum of its parts. I could perfect my zone system techniques or travel to Yosemite and take my images at the same locations he did, standing in his footsteps. But even if I do all that, and I ended up with an image that gives the look and feel of Adams’, I’d have to say to myself that it’s already been done.
Instead, I have to take what I’ve learned from and about him and apply it to my own photographic techniques. I will always enjoy looking at his images and reading about his life, but I need to make it my own and take what works for my own photography.
