Ansel Adams (1902-1984)

Quotes

• I have often thought that if photography were difficult in the true sense of the term -- meaning that the creation of a simple photograph would entail as much time and effort as the production of a good watercolor or etching -- there would be a vast improvement in total output. The sheer ease with which we can produce a superficial image often leads to creative disaster.

• 'To the complaint, 'There are no people in these photographs,' I respond, 'There are always two people: the photographer and the viewer.'

• It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment.

• There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.

• No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit.

• Millions of men have lived to fight, build palaces and boundaries, shape destinies and societies; but the compelling force of all times has been the force of originality and creation profoundly affecting the roots of human spirit.

• You don't take a photograph, you make it.

• A good photograph is knowing where to stand.

• A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.

• A photograph is usually looked at - seldom looked into.

• A true photograph need not be explained, nor can it be contained in words.

• In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration.

• Not everybody trusts paintings, but people believe photographs.

• Myths and creeds are heroic struggles to comprehend the truth in the world.

• Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art.

• Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter.

• There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.

• There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.

• There are worlds of experience beyond the world of the aggressive man, beyond history, and beyond science. The moods and qualities of nature and the revelations of great art are equally difficult to define; we can grasp them only in the depths of our perceptive spirit.

• To photograph truthfully and effectively is to see beneath the surfaces and record the qualities of nature and humanity which live or are latent in all things.