 |
||
| Ansel Adams stands as one of America's greatest landscape photographers. Born in San Francisco, Adams was trained as a concert pianist. His first photographs were made at the age of 14 using a Kodak Brownie camera during a visit to Yosemite Valley with his parents. This visit strongly influenced the course of Adams' life. By age 30, he had changed his path and chosen a career in photography. Adams' photographs are elegantly composed and technically flawless. Ansel Adams proved a tireless investigation of the methods of photography, pioneering a method called The Zone System, a technique which allows photographers to translate the light they see into specific densities on negatives and paper, thus giving better control over finished images. Throughout his career, Ansel Adams became well known for the clarity of his instruction and his hands-on workshop approach to the medium. Ansel Adams advocated the role of photography as a fine art, inspiring new ways of seeing and communicating. He influenced generations of photographers though his teaching, practice, and publishing endeavors, and has gained standing as one of America's best-known photographer. Winnowing Grain, Taos Pueblo, New Mexico depicts the matriarchal aspect of the Taos people of New Mexico. Adams has captured the daily life of this woman, outside of her adobe home, made of sun-dried bricks. His use of framing the woman in the midst of her home while doing daily chores makes strong use of composition while offering a glimpse into the life of the people of the desert southwest.  (For Grades 6-8) What do you think the daily life of this woman was like? What do you think she is doing? What time of day might this image have been made? What makes you think that? Why do you think that Adams placed the subject of this photograph in the left corner? What else do you think he wanted to capture in this image? What do you think this pueblo looks like inside? What do you think it might smell like? Does it look like it would be bright or dark inside? Cool or hot? |
||
| |
||
  |
||
Ansel Easton Adams American, 1902-1984 Winnowing Grain, Taos Pueblo, New Mexico Gelatin Silver Print, ca. 1937 Collection Museum of Photographic Arts Gift of Prentice and Paul Sack 1997.025.005 © Trustees of The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust |
||
© 2005 CARE All rights reserved