Ansel Adams in Color

As a photographer with over 50 years of experience with cameras, I found the color photos by Ansel Adams interesting and enjoyable to peruse. But, the most important aspect of this book for me were the quoted passages from Ansel's letters and other writings regarding the challenges of making meaningful and art-level color photographs. Ansel envisioned the coming world of color photography and even foresaw the post negative film era that might happen as he wrote many years ago when color slide film was his choice for its stability and vividness. But, when he wrote his book, the color films then available to the photographer did not enable the degree of post-camera manipulation and fine tuning of photographs that we enjoy today with digital photography.

This book is all about the text. It is a book on photographic philosophy, and can't be reasonably judged as a book of images by Ansel Adams evangelists like some of the above reviewers. He is dead now, and surely wouldn't mind the fact that some of his pictures have been used to stimulate discussion and thought regarding photography and/or art. He would not have proudly displayed this work based solely on his personal opinions. That doesn't mean it is bad, and it doesn't mean it is exploitive for publishers to show it to us now. It is just an interesting book, and I imagine that it would be even for someone who is not a photographer.

Any decent photographer knows about the work of Ansel Adams. Sure, he is well known for his black and white work, but many of us have wondered about his work in color. This book presents some good photos, but the main thing is the text (and there isn't too much of it, which is good). It includes analysis, but also comments from Ansel himself (articles, interviews, etc.). Definitely worth reading. I was going to just breeze through the pretty pictures, but when I started reading the text, I had to read all of it.

To finally see Adams' work in color, is truly a sight to behold! Ansel Adams has dazzled people with his black & white photographs for years, now the public has a chance to see the same artistry, but in color! Magnificent and wonderful! Two thumbs Ansel Adams and Kodak!! Two thumbs up!

For the aspiring photo-enthusiast or the accomplished professional, through this book, Ansel Adams brings to you a touch of his fine art mastery in color for a change. His visual mastery in Black & White, with the added value of Color. Being a professional photographer who's seen quite a bit of work, both brilliant and otherwise, this book just keeps you loving image after image. A must see for excellent visual input.