28 Quotes & Sayings By Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams was one of the most important photographers of the 20th century. His images created a new look in photography, bringing to light, through his deep understanding of light and composition, the beauty in nature's panorama. His work appeared in Life, Look, Harper's Bazaar, National Geographic, and other magazines. Adams was also an accomplished painter and an award-winning poet Read more

His paintings are held by several major museums around the United States. The Ansel Adams Center for Photography is located at the University of California in Berkeley.

In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every...
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In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration. Ansel Adams
Sometimes I arrive just when God's ready to have somone...
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Sometimes I arrive just when God's ready to have somone click the shutter. Ansel Adams
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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. Ansel Adams
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Both the grand and the intimate aspects of nature can be revealed in the expressive photograph. Both can stir enduring affirmations and discoveries, and can surely help the spectator in his search for identification with the vast world of natural beauty and wonder surrounding him. Ansel Adams
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When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence. Ansel Adams
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You don't make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved. Ansel Adams
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You don't take a photograph, you make it. Ansel Adams
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A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed. Ansel Adams
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A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense and is thereby a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety. Ansel Adams
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A photograph is usually looked at- seldom looked into. Ansel Adams
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Not everybody trusts paintings but people believe photographs. Ansel Adams
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It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment. Ansel Adams
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I have often had a retrospective vision where everything in my past life seems to fall with significance into logical sequence. Ansel Adams
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To the complaint, 'There are no people in these photographs, ' I respond, There are always two people: the photographer and the viewer. Ansel Adams
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There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs. Ansel Adams
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There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept. Ansel Adams
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Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer - and often the supreme disappointment. Ansel Adams
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The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it! Ansel Adams
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Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art. Ansel Adams
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Yosemite Valley, to me, is always a sunrise, a glitter of green and golden wonder in a vast edifice of stone and space. Ansel Adams
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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. Ansel Adams
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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. Ansel Adams
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A good photograph is knowing where to stand. Ansel Adams
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In my mind's eye, I visualize how a particular... sight and feeling will appear on a print. If it excites me, there is a good chance it will make a good photograph. It is an intuitive sense, an ability that comes from a lot of practice. Ansel Adams
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Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter. Ansel Adams
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Myths and creeds are heroic struggles to comprehend the truth in the world. Ansel Adams
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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. Ansel Adams