The one that started everything: The Tetons and the Yellowstone by Ansel Adams. This was the book that taught me to be comfortable being uncomfortable, to push through rugged terrain, and expand my perspective beyond my youthful edges.
Over the next few years, I bought a few other Ansel Adams books and began to see his imagery beyond the pictures themselves. ”When I’m ready to make a photograph, I think I quite obviously see in my mind’s eye something that is not literally there in the true meaning of the word,” he wrote in one. “I’m interested in something which is built up from within, rather than just extracted from without.”
Ansel and his imagery had a great influence on bringing awareness to areas of our country that we now know as Kings Canyon National Park, Denali National Park, and Yosemite National Park. Those images also brought an acceptance that photography could share gallery space with traditional art. Dozens of his books now call my house their home. They gather little dust as I pick them up from time to time seeking inspiration when my creativity is waning.
Excerpt from Nature’s Masterpiece by Bruce McCamish. Read the full story here.
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