Ansel Adams
November 12, 2005
Yesterday I had the opportunity to see the Ansel Adams exhibit at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. I have seen a few exhibits down there, some I have enjoyed and others that I was less impressed with. Ansel Adams now ranks in my all time favorites. Most people can easily recognize many of Adam’s black and white photography. What I enjoyed was learning more about the man behind the photograph. The photographs that Adams is most well-known for were not taken until much later in his career. He was greatly influenced by other photographers in his day, and four of them formed the “f/64″ club, named after the sharp imagery they strove to portray. It was not until this revelation in the 30’s that Adams began snapping some of the shots that are so familiar to us today. Most of his earlier work uses softer exposures and they look more like pen and ink drawings than the do photographs. It was also amazing to see the range of Adam’s work. As a casual observer, when I thought of Ansel Adams, I thought of his beautiful black and white landscape photography. In this exhibit I had the opportunity to see everything from landscapes throughout the West to protraits of Pueblo Indians to close up shots of kitchen utensils. Adams sometimes took commercial jobs to supplement his income. While these photographs were taken with the specific goal as an advertisement, they are now proudly displayed as artwork in the MFA. Ansel Adams had a fascinating life, starting out homeschooled, then deciding he wanted to be a professional musician, and then finally giving into his passion, photography. With so many of his photographs on display in one place, it becomes easy to see how Adams changed and grew throughout his lifetime. This was an excellent exhibit that will be on display at the MFA through December 31. I would encourage anyone who has the free time (and money) to make the trip – it is well worth the expense.
