Project 5 - Artist as a Mentor (Ansel Adams)

Big Stone Lake

Big Stone City, SD

November 11, 2023

Big Stone Lake

Big Stone City, SD

November 11, 2023

Big Stone Lake

Big Stone City, SD

November 11, 2023

Big Stone City, SD

November 11, 2023

Big Stone City, SD

November 11, 2023

Big Stone City, SD

November 11. 2023

Ansel Adams

Cathedral Peak and Lake Yosemite National Park

California, 1038

Ansel Adams

Jackson Lake and the Tetons

1941

Ansel Adams

Mirror Lake

Yosemite National Park, 1935

Ansel Adams

Moon and Clouds

Northern California, 1959

Ansel Adams

Mount Williamson from Manazar

Sierra Nevada, California 1944

Ansel Adams

Sunrise

Death Valley, 1948

Ansel Adams

Sunset

Prairie Creek Beach, 1964

Ansel Adams

Thunderstorm

Yosemite National Park, 1945

Ansel Adams

Mono Lake, 1947

Ansel Adams

Late Evening

Monument Valley, Utah 1950

Artist Statement

Artistic influences come from many different places and people, one of my personal influences is Ansel Adams. Ansel Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist. I don’t portray it nearly as much in my current body of work, but I have done a series based on environmental issues and how climate change impacts animals. His body of work mostly consisted of black-and-white landscape photography, but he also has a few series in color.

 

When looking at the ways he influences my own artwork, I think the most apparent similarity is our love for natural beauty and landscape. My photography tends to stay towards the natural elements and the way that the colors interact. One of the ways I aspire to enhance my artistic practice is to be better about lighting and color, especially after looking at the way he was able to capture sunsets in black and white.

 

Another way that Ansel Adams has influenced my art practice is by seeing the beauty in my surroundings. Anyone who looks at our photographs next to each other knows that our surroundings are quite different, and many would say mine are less visually interesting. However, I like to think that we can both capture the beauty in the mundane because his photos are not always focused on the beautiful scenery, but there is something in the foreground that catches your eye first. I would like to travel and be able to photograph more of the “beautiful” places, but I also am thankful that I can see so much beauty in the landscape I live in.