Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park, 1953
One of the most highly recognized photographers of the 20th century, Ansel Adams (1902-1984) was known for his boldly printed, large format black and white images. Few are aware, though, that Adams worked extensively in color as well.
Tree, Barn, Near Livemore, California, 1950
In a career of 50-plus years, Adams pursued color photography for over forty of them, and he believed it to be the medium of the future. In addition to using it for commercial jobs, he shot color for magazines like Life, Horizon and Fortune. He also exhibited his color work at the Museum of Modern Art in 1950.
Mauna Kea from Mauna Loa, Hawaii, 1948
Adams felt closest to black and white photography, which can be manipulated to produce a wide range of bold, expressive tones, and he felt constricted by the rigidity of the color process. "Art implies control of reality, for reality itself possesses no sense of the esthetic. Photography becomes an art when certain controls are applied..."
Yellow Mountain, Glacier National Park, Montana, 1948
Adams wrote, "I believe that color photography, while astonishingly advanced technologically, is still in its infancy as a creative medium."
Sunset From Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park, 1948
Despite his misgivings about the medium, Adams still pursued color, but remained dubious of his own efforts. "I have done no color of consequence for thirty years!" he wrote. "However, I have some color which is acceptable...The Kodachromes have lasted the best of all."
Church, Sunrise, Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, 1948
In a 1962 essay describing his efforts in color, Adams noted the irony of our perceptions about the two media. "There is little or no 'reality' in the blacks, grays and whites of either the informational or expressive black-and-white image," he wrote, "and yet we have learned to interpret these values as meaningful and 'real.'"
Jeffrey Pine on Sentinel Dome, Yosemite National Park, 1948
In an article on color photography for Image magazine, Adams observed another paradox: "Esthetically, subjects possessing the least obvious color seem to come through best, not only in simulation of reality, but in sheer beauty of color in image."
Church, Sunset, Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, 1948
In a letter to Wally McGalliard about the image above, Adams wrote, "Thank you 10 9 x for the prints...You did a spectacular job with it. The old Kodachrome was pretty strong in purples, etc!!!"
Shipwreck of the Ark at Salt Chuck, Near Juneau, Alaska, 1948
"Psychologically any one color is affected by other colors," Adams wrote, "by changes of light quality and intensity, by the inherent contrast of the scene..."
Pool, Kaibab Plateau, Arizona, 1947
Describing one experience in the field, Adams wrote, "I was camped in my car...usually sleeping on top of my car on the camera platform, which measured about 5x9 feet. Arising long before dawn, I made some coffee and reheated some beans, then gathered my equipment and started..."
Monument Valley, Utah, 1950
"Color, physically or psychologically considered, is extremely complex. While we have good reason to believe all persons with normal vision see colors the same way, the significance of colors may vary with each individual."
Cliffs of the Pali, Oahu, Hawaii, 1948
Looking into the future, Adams wrote, "I...tremble when I think of the coming tornado of 'color.'"
Pool, Kaibab Plateau, Arizona, 1947
Adams struggled against the technical limitations of the color photography of his day, but remained optimistic that one day, "astonishing developments await us in...[the] electronic image."
