Ansel Adams

When I'm ready to make a photograph, I think I quite obviously see in my minds eye something that is not literally there in the true meaning of the word. I'm interested in something which is built up from within, rather than just extracted from without.

Ansel Adams


I tried to keep both arts alive, but the camera won. I found that while the camera does not express the soul, perhaps a photograph can!

Ansel Adams


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


We must remember that a photograph can hold just as much as we put into it, and no one has ever approached the full possibilities of the medium.

Ansel Adams


Dodging and burning are steps to take care of mistakes God made in establishing tonal relationships.

Ansel Adams


A photograph is usually looked at - seldom looked into.

Ansel Adams


The negative is comparable to the composer's score and the print to its performance. Each performance differs in subtle ways.

Ansel Adams


Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter.

Ansel Adams


A true photograph need not be explained, nor can it be contained in words.

Ansel Adams


Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop.

Ansel Adams

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