Show Notes

A few weeks ago, I had a great exchange with Joel, a friend of the show. We were talking about a set of original Ansel Adams prints on sale. Some of the photos are amazing and stop me dead in my tracks. They simply captivate. Yet other works… are less enthralling. They are, dare I say, average. I think that’s fair when measured against today’s standards. Maybe they are images we have seen already. Or maybe it is a concept we are familiar with now.

So what makes photographers so great? What makes the past masters of photography deserve our reverence? It comes down to a single word - vision. The masters of old had singular, unique vision. They showed us our world in a different way, made visible something the rest of us didn’t see.

Dorothea Lange’s work capturing images during The Great Depression put a face on struggle. She made others see hunger. And, rightly so, her work influenced generations of photojournalists and documentarians.

Edward Weston’s work is all about detail for me. Whether it is a nautilus shell or sand dunes or those famous bell peppers… a viewer is transfixed by his images. We get lost in the lines and curves that weave through the frame, creating forms and shapes we didn’t see after the first glance.

And what about Ansel Adams? He had the singular talent to incoprorate weather into the landscape. Weather became a central character in his imagery, an essential part of the photo.

And for those of us that aspire to have vision like the past masters, what lessons can we take away? Don’t be afraid to capture the subject that move you, that stir some feeling or emotion in you. When that little voice in your head says “take a photo” … go ahead and listen. Also, concern yourself more with the content of the photo and less about the technical aspects. Technique is important, sure, but the content is most important. The past masters made incredible images with far less technically capable equipment. Their vision is what mattered, and their vision continues to stand the test of time.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Ansel Adams Gallery, https://shop.anseladams.com/collections/original-photographs-by-ansel-adams

Rate & Review

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Podchaser.com. Fresh, current ratings help other photographers find out about the show.

Supporters Of The Show - Thank You!

Thanks to everyone that supports this show, through comments, reviews, and shares. Sharing this podcast with your photo friends and camera clubs is one of the many zero-cost ways you can support the show. If you wish to support the show financially, you can also make a one-time donation.

Affiliate Links

Product links in this post may contain affiliate tags. Depending on the purchase, Scott Davenport Photography may receive compensation if you purchase a product via one of those links. There is no additional cost to you. The use of affiliate links never influences the content or opinions of the episodes.