Ansel Adams in COLOR?! Who knew??
I just received my latest issue of Smithsonian magazine in the mail. In it was an article on the color photography of Ansel Adams. How did I go my WHOLE LIFE and never realize that he made color photos along with his iconic black and white, larger than life images. This one is my favorite (1939!!)
Excerpted from the book Ansel Adams in Color. Copyright © 1993, 2009 by Trustees of The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust. Reprinted with permission of Little, Brown and Company
THIS is the kind of image I love to just sit and stare at–like listening to a piece of well-composed music, this picture has nothing unnecessary in it. The repetition of the towers, cars and smoke create not only a kind of pattern, but a real visual RHYTHM that you can feel and even hear in your imagination! The predominance of cool blues contrasted with just a hint of its complementary color, the warm orange from the rising sun reminds me of what it feels like to have to wake up early on a cold morning and get ready for work. It is strangely quiet and busy at the same time….sleepy but full of potential energy. The best part about it is that I don’t have to go anywhere or do anything! I can just sit back and enjoy this exquisite photo!
Please visit the Smithsonian link to the slide show of other works and quotes from the artist here:
