Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs

A great book that gives you background of some of the thoughts that went into the work. Highly valuable insight to be had here. Great images and Ansel was a very good writer.

This is truly a fantastic resource for those who want to "step into" the mind of a master photographer. On a different note, it is also an interesting historical perspective from somebody who has lived through the technological changes in photography and several different "movements" in art. Beyond just providing you with basic "EXIF" or exposure information on his shots, Adams has provided insight into, among other things, what lead up to "seeing" the shot, how he considered technical aspects (especially as it related to his Zone System), how he felt about the scene and his surroundings, and what he did in the darkroom in order to bring out the best in the shot. You also get a very good sense of Adams' philosophy on photography and just life in general.I learned several interesting things about Adams from this book that I did not know previously - he bracketed shots quite a bit (which made me feel better about not getting the shot perfect the first time, every time), he spent as much time in "post processing" as he did shooting (which made me reconsider how I use modern equivalents like Photoshop and Aperture), even though he bracketed quite often, he really felt you got your best "base" for the shot from the negative, and thus he was a proponent of pre-visualizing shots.This book is very easy to read and the photographs are nicely reproduced so you can get a sense of what Adams is talking about. It is also subtly dense. While you can read it in a very leisurely manner, picking up points here and there, it is also worthy of serious study. As I have reread favorite sections for a second and third time, I have picked up on nuances in his words that have help me understand the photo better and how I may apply his wisdom to my own photography.Finally, this book has prompted me to do my own "Making of..." series for 40 of my photographs and write about it on my blog. In that sense, this book has really spurred me to be detail-oriented with my shooting and helped me creatively. It is worth the modest price and has provided me with at least ten-fold in satisfaction.

This book is like traveling back in time to attend an Ansel Adams photography workshop. The fact that the book was written by Ansel himself provides the reader with a personal experience. The descriptions of each of these legendary photographs is not only an education in the technical aspects of photography but also its history. You will learn that Ansel was using pioneering techniques in developing and printing to manipulate his images for dramatic effect, a 1940s version of photo shop and lightroom. Required reading for students of photography.

The best thing about this book is the wonderful selection of photographs by Ansel Adams. The regrettable thing about it is that the writing is by Ansel Adams. He often uses 30 words to say what can best be said in 6. But that's okay. Better that rather than a good nuts and bolts writer on photography whose photographs look dead and uninteresting, for example . . . BUT - the writing in Adams's revised photo series by Adams is readable and succinct.

If, like me, you're really into Ansel Adams' photography, you'll love this book. In my opinion, not every photo that Ansel shot was a winner, but, regardless, they were technical marvels. In this book, Ansel gives details on how he shot each photo, often to an incredible point, as in, "Holy mackerel, only Ansel would know that the luminance of the moon was 250 foot candles per square foot (c/ft2)." But that's Ansel: a master of photography who's work will live for a long, long time.

This is a fascinating of how Ansel Adams came to make 40 of his photographs. Some of them are well known ("Monolith, The Face of the half Dome", "Clearing Winter Storm", "Moonrise - Hernandez, New Mexico", "Clearing Winter Storm", "Mount McKinley and Wonder Lake") others less so (for example, the portraits and still life). The accounts of each photograph include anecdotes about how the photograph came to be made and technical information about the film, exposure, f-stop, development and printing processes, and a little about composition. Adams does not attempt to explain the meaning of any of the images: as he says, "only the print contains the artist's meaning and message". If you are looking for a "cookbook" of bullet points that will improve your photography, then you will probably be disappointed, especially since many of the technique issues are specific to black and white medium-format film photography. However if you have a deep appreciation of photographic art and the classic images that define it then you will enjoy this insight into the mind of one of the great practitioners and learn from him.

Ansel Adams, as with any artist, cannot be successfully imitated, but if one can truly grasp and employ the concepts that drove Adam's genius, then, if interested in being a better photographer, they will succeed in excelling in photography.This book takes one through forty of his photographs documenting in his words his thoughts, his actions and the equipment he used. in my opinion this is a helpful technical book regarding the circumstances surrounding the production of a great artist's works. If you are looking for wonderful Ansel Adams book of photographs exquisitely reproduced, there are much better books that Ansel Adams produced than this one. A note of caution to those looking for the best art books of his pictures, I believe that rarely are the books published after his death as painstakingly produced as those art books where he over-saw the production. I have found the quality to be inconsistent.

The book itself is very well done, with great paper quality. I don't need to say anything much about the content -- Ansel Adams is a master, and this is obviously one of his highly recommended books.However, I give 4 stars because I got the book with some minor scratches on the front cover and a marking on the first page. It seems like it was a "demo piece" rather than a brand new book.

I'll start this review by saying that I'm not really a fan of Ansel Adams. Yes, he's technically proficient and can expose any image perfectly, however for me his images don't "speak" to me and some of his compositions are questionable in my opinion. However...I bought this book to read more as an autobiography than anything else. It's fascinating to read about the history of how a certain shot was attained, why he framed it a certain way, the exposure he used, the lens etc, but also how he remembers the scene years later. For that it's an interesting read whether you like his photos or not - as in my case.The choice of photos are strange though. I mean, I'm no Ansel Adams fan but there are far more famous and emotive shots out there of his so I'm not entirely sure why these were picked over those. Still, doesn't really make a difference to the "behind the scenes" biography texts though.Worth a read from a biography point of view.

Liked it very much its part of my 3 year degree course in photography

Great pictures and fascinating text, describes a world and a lifestyle that probably does not exist now. Inspiring and informative, the perfect book for the keen photographer taking time off due to bad weather.

GREAT BOOK SUPERB IMAGES

Delight to look at. Amazing tales of how photography was in the early-mid 20th century.