Landscape Photography - Artist Research

Landscape Photography - Artist Research

Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams was born in 1902 and died in 1984. He was described as being intelligent and intense yet shy and understated. He changed from pursuing music as a career to photography. Adams was born in San Francisco and was a keen naturalist, inspired by the Yosemite National Park. He took many of his photographs in the Yosemite National Park and as a result was considered to be one of the best ever landscape photographers. He was also considered to be a highly technical photographer and used the Zone System and formed the group f/64 (also a camera setting) which helped achieve great detail within his images and also influenced him to keep the images in black and white. The f/64 group was made up of 7 other photographers.

The Zone System is a way of controlling the prints' tonal range. The tonal range of the final prints is adjusted by light readings at the shooting stage, and the development at the processing stage. 

The Zone System -


Adams also used pre-visualisation which allows the photographer to see the final print before the image has been captured. This is also a technique which is used in film but it was also adopted by Ansel Adams in order to capture his landscape images.


This image appears to be very dramatic and I like the way that the image appears to have been shot at night due to the dark tones. I also like the use of depth within the image as it helps to show the format of the landscape.


This image shows an attractive landscape which includes both light and dark areas and tones within. The image includes formal elements which include, leading lines, tones as well as depth. The angle from which the image is taken is very interesting and assists in making the image more appealing.


Again, this photograph appears very dramatic and mysterious. I like the way the image includes very dark areas as well as light areas as this allows the audiences eye to be drawn to desired areas within the image. I also like how the image presents leading lines in the form of the river. This helps to draw the viewers eye up towards the main focus of the image which is the mountains. 

This image also appears to be rather dramatic. I like the way that this image shows a narrow depth of field whereby only the object in the foreground is in focus. I also like how the image appears to be misty as this gives the audience the feeling of mystery when looking at the photograph.

Stephen Shore

Stephen Shore was born in 1947 and is an American, self taught photographer who is known for his images of scenes of life in the United States. At 17, Shore met Warhol and began to frequent   Warhol's studio, photographing Warhol and the people who surrounded him. In 1971, at age 24, Shore became the second living photographer to have a solo exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
He is also known for his original use of colour in his art photography. When Shore did his projects, he used a 8x10 view (large format) camera and by doing this, went against the small and medium scale shooters. At the same time, he went against the f/64 group (Ansel Adams) by shooting in bold and vibrant colours. Shore was also part of the group called the 'New Topographics' which were a group who focused on capturing images in a very systematic way. This may explain why Shore uses so much of the formal element of lines within his work.
I like the element of the wide angle which is used in his images. This is an aspect of his work which I would like to try and use in my work. 

This image is very interesting as it is uniform and contains the formal element of lines in multiple ways. I like the way that the image contains both dark and light tones as this helps to create depth within the photograph of the street landscape.


This image is very simplistic but can still be considered as a landscape. I like the colours within the image as they are bright and appealing. I also like how the image gives clues about the location of the landscape due to the sky and the foreground.


I like this image as although it is quite plain, it contains more meaning than is first apparent. I like how the image contains American marketing brands as well as much of the image being in the colours of the American flag. I also like how the image is vibrant and is very uniform. The image also contains the formal element of lines in many instances.


I like this image as it is different and looks at landscapes from a more alternative perspective. I like the colours within the image as they are quite bold which makes the image appealing and eye-catching. I also like how the image contains lines. The element of lines are a common occurrence in all of Shore's images which helps in making all the images interconnect more. I also like how the colours in the images are quite saturated.