Ansel Adams: 400 Photographs

Title:

Ansel Adams: 400 Photographs

Edited by:

Andrea G. Stillman

Nonfiction photography book, released as hardcover 2007.

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ISBN-10: 0-316-11772-2

ISBN-13: 978-0-316-11772-2

Published by:

Little, Brown and Company Hachette Book Group USA 237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10169 www.hachettebookgroupusa.com

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Price:

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$40.oo USD / $50.oo CAN

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You don't take a photograph, you make it. -- Ansel Adams

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This is one fine retrospective. It's organized chronologically: (including some taken in 1916, with a Kodak Brownie, on a family vacation) 1920s to through the 1960s. It includes many of his most popular works, but also some of his lesser-known efforts. It is a peek into the development of a fine artist.

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As an amateur photographer and "child of the woods", I have always admired the works of Ansel Adams, who was at once fine artist and devotee of the wilderness. Here in this new book a nice collection of his works of some six decades is showcased admirably. From his well-known landscapes to still life and portrait work, one brilliant black and white photo succeeds the next with the elegance and careful work of a master plain to see.

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For the true devotee of photography, I recommend proceeding to the back of the book, where details of the works are documented. It's a fascinating look into the mind of a great photographer.

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For those of you who aren't familiar with the works of Ansel Adams (1902-1984), he was the most celebrated and honored American photographer of his era, the 20th century. He was also a devotee of nature, using his skills and artistry, through both publication and exhibits, to defend and protect the wilderness. To this he added his writings, leadership in the Sierra Club, and a world of followers. His how-to books are classics in regards to black and white photography still today. With the efforts of the Ansel Adams Trust, his good works continue today to make our world a better place -- and to keep up priceless preservation of our wild spaces.

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In 1980, this man, this photographer, was gifted by then-President Jimmy Carter with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The dustcover on the book gives us the wording of the citation:

At one with the power of the American landscape, and renowned for the patient skill and timeless beauty of his work, photographer Ansel Adams has been visionary in his efforts to preserve the country's wild and scenic areas, both on film and on earth. Drawn to the beauty of nature's monuments, he is regarded by environmentalists as a monument himself, and by photographers as a national institution. It is through his foresight and fortitude that so much of America has been saved for future Americans.

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Having edited seven books for the Ansel Adams Trust (of Mr. Adams' work), Ms. Stillman is a former staff member of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (NY, USA), and personally worked for Ansel Adams during the 1970s.

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Thanks to Hachette Book Group for the chance to review this remarkable view into the works of Ansel Adams, photographer. For information on other books offered or about to be offered by HBGUSA, please visit their website.

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