With recent cold storms blanketing the park with snow, Yosemite is oh so beautiful!
"Do you have a love-hate relationship with Photoshop? You’re not alone. One the one hand, it’s an incredibly powerful tool, capable of doing fantastic things. You know that if you mastered this program you could get the most out of your images and make beautiful prints. On the other hand, Photoshop can be cryptic, complex, and confusing. The learning curve can seem downright crooked.
"I was lucky. When I first started using Photoshop in the late ‘90s, I got to spend a weekend with Bill Atkinson, who probably knew more about digital imaging than anyone else in the world at the time (maybe he still does). He started me in the right direction and helped me avoid the confusion caused by gathering random bits of information from books and the internet. Like Charlie Cramer, Keith Walklet, and many other fine-art photographers Bill taught, I still use a variation of the simple, powerful, and flexible workflow that Bill showed me.
"I’ve since taught Photoshop (and now Lightroom) skills to dozens of people in workshops for West Coast Imaging and The Ansel Adams Gallery. I try to make the complexities of Photoshop easy to understand. The truth is that Photoshop is simple. Anyone can learn to use it. And if you’re already familiar with it, you can learn to harness its full power. The secret is that you don’t have to deal with most of the tools. If you learn to use a few powerful tools well, you can do almost anything in Photoshop.
"My next workshop with The Ansel Adams Gallery, Digital Printing and the Zone System (January 19 - 23, 2010) is designed for people who already have some Photoshop experience but want to master this powerful beast. You'll learn both simple and advanced techniques for getting the most out of your images and making beautiful, fine-art prints. I included the Zone System in the title because getting good exposures in the field is vital to getting good results in Photoshop, so we’ll be working with the entire process, from capture to print. The Zone System also gives us a framework for understanding contrast throughout the workflow—an important tool in this age of HDR. Here’s a partial list of the topics covered:
- Zone System Exposure for Digital Cameras
- Color Management
- Overall workflow
- Raw Image Processing
- Making a Master File
- Using Layers for Flexibility
- Controlling Contrast
- Mastering Curves
- Flexible Dodging and Burning
- Retouching
- Making Difficult Selections Easy
- Converting to Black and White
- Sharpening
- Combining Images for Greater Depth of Field
- Combining Images to Expand Dynamic Range, both with HDR and Photoshop"
Here is a look at Ansel's original contact sheet from the 120 roll film he used in 1960. Notice how his attention wanders a couple of times and that he used more than one lens.
Ansel claimed that he had always been moonstruck and had many moons in pictures. This photograph was taken in December of 1960 when in Yosemite to direct the Bracebridge Dinner. It was a cold afternoon with snow on the ground. Ansel was using his Hasselblad camera on a tripod and took a number of photographs using different lenses. The contact prints of the image reveal a number of similar photographs that look wonderful. In 1962 when Jeanne and I married, Ansel offered this image to use as our wedding announcement. Jeanne feels that Ansel took his most exciting images when emotionally engaged and comments: “This was taken my first Christmas with the Adams family and Ansel was particularly happy for Michael and the family.”
It has turned out to be one of Ansel’s most popular and sought after photographs. Ansel stated: “I have photographed Half Dome innumerable times, but it is never the same Half Dome, never the same light or the same mood. I am told by mountaineers that the three most distinctive mountain shapes in the world are the Mustagh Tower in the Karakorams, the Matterhorn in the Alps, and Half Dome in Yosemite. Half Dome is a great mountain with endless variations of lighting and sky situations and seasonal characteristics; the many images I have made reflect my varied creative responses to this remarkable granite monolith.”
To commemorate the Moon and Half Dome encore on November 28 at 4:04 pm, Alan Ross will sign and date the back of a limited number of Moon and Half Dome Special Edition Photographs. If you are planning to be in the park on November 28, and have signed-up for our special In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams-Moon and Half Dome photography class, we invite you to reserve one of these prints to memorialize the occasion. The prints will be available during the Thanksgiving weekend only to celebrate the encore and will not be made available again in the future. Select from three metal frame colors; german silver, contrast gray, and matte black. An acid-free seal in the cut-out window of the backing protects the print and allows the identifying stamp, signature, and date to be visible.
We are reserving the Moon and Half Dome prints with Alan Ross’ signature on the back for Yosemite visitors taking part on our classes that weekend. Any prints not sold to class participants during the encore programs will be available for sale only at the Gallery. Please call: 888-361-7622 or email us at sales@anseladams.com for more information, and to register for the class and reserve your print for pick-up at the Gallery. This commemorative photograph will not be available online.
Alan’s new exhibit at the Gallery entitled Yosemite and the American West opens November 17. We invite you to join us for a reception for the artist following the Moon and Half Dome encore, from 5:00 to 6:30 pm at The Ansel Adams Gallery. Refreshments will be served.
A new exhibit entitled Visions of Yosemite and the West featuring the black and white silver gelatin photographs of Alan Ross opens November 17th.
| November is a great time to be in Yosemite Valley. The Park is much quieter than in summer, and the fall color is inspiring! Not to mention the weather is perfect for enjoying a workshop. Platinum/Palladium and Gum Bichromate Workshop November 12-15, 2009 (Yosemite National Park) |
| Platinum/palladium and gum bichromate are two of the most venerable of the alternative processes. Used alone they are each capable of creating beautiful, evocative images. When used in combination they become a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. Combining the two processes provides a palette with which truly unique prints can be made. Whether you have some experience in either or both of these processes or if you have never before made a hand-made print, this workshop is for you. The Mirror Image November 10, 2009 (Yosemite National Park) The Mirror Image will focus on photographing the Merced River, the heart and soul of Yosemite Valley. Water is perhaps the most colorful and dynamic of all photographic subjects. And nowhere is it more spectacular than when reflecting the autumn splendor of Yosemite Valley. Participants will explore the creative choices involved in making water and reflection photographs. |
From the book, Ansel Adams in Color:
"Ansel Adams has long been revered as America's greatest landscape photographer. His luminous black-and-white images showcase gorgeous subtleties of light and shadow and have become icons of the American West. But Adams also photographed in color, beginning soon after Kodachrome film was invented in the mid-1930s. In addition to commercial assignment work, he did creative photography in color, and his distinctive visualization of a scene and technical mastery are immediately evident in the beautiful images in this volume.
"Overall, Adams made nearly 3,500 color photographs, but only a small fraction has ever been published. This newly revised and expanded edition of Ansel Adams in Color includes twenty previously unpublished photographs from the Adams archive. New scanning and printing techniques mean that Ansel Adams in Color now offers a more faithful representation of Adams' color photography than was possible before."
A beautiful book attractively priced at $35.00
We have copies of First Light: Five Photographers Explore Yosemite's Wilderness signed by all the photographers!
Enter Our National Park Photography Contest
Many of you have already entered your photographic masterpieces taken at a U.S. National Park, Landmark, or Monument. We are enjoying seeing all the nice work!
90 Years in the American West(on display in the Yosemite Gallery through November 16) is a traveling exhibition of select photographs from two masters of the Great American West, Ansel Adams and Bob Kolbrener. The Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite is the last stop on this national touring exhibition of over 25 vintage and modern prints, all printed in the traditional darkroom.
| Mike Osborne has photographed nature for more than thirty-five years. Recently retired after thirty years as a ranger in Yosemite, he knows the park intimately. His images have been used in promotional programs supporting The Yosemite Fund and the Yosemite Association. He is the author/photographer of Granite, Water and Light, an interpretive and photographic tribute to the waterfalls of Yosemite Valley. Mike also collaborated with four other photographers in a five year exploration of Yosemite's Backcountry resulting in a beautiful new book, First Light: Five Photographers Explore Yosemite's Wilderness released this past summer. Mike's enthusiasm for the photography and Yosemite, as well as his in-depth knowledge of the best places to photograph along the Merced River are unparalleled. We guarantee you will enjoy your day with Mike, and come away from the workshop with new skills and an appreciation for Yosemite's ever-changing landscape.
November 21, 2009 (Yosemite National Park) How many times have you driven to Yosemite on Highway 140 and been in such a rush to get to the park that you've given only a passing glance to the 15 miles of the Wild & Scenic Merced River below the park boundary? The River Nobody Knows workshop offers you the opportunity to correct that oversight. | |||
Tuition for the workshops is $185.00 Our website has more information on all our upcoming workshops. | |||
Digital Printing and the Zone System January 19-23, 2010
(Yosemite National Park)
July 7 - 11, 2010
(Mono Lake and Yosemite National Park)
Just in time for holiday shopping we're releasing four new Archival Replica images.
A special award of $300 will be given to the best piece inspired by Hetch Hetchy that the jurors select to be included in the exhibit.
Bob Kolbrener spends over three months each year in the Great American West focusing his camera on the changing landscape, and the balance of his time printing beautiful works as limited edition gelatin silver prints. "I have always responded to the grand, ephemeral gestures of Nature. When there is a lightning, fog or winter storm, I am alive with emotion. Through the teachings and inspiration of Ansel Adams I have been able to direct this energy to the making of exciting photographs."
The photographs in the exhibit compare and contrast the work of two visionary masters, as well as their love and respect for Yosemite and surrounding areas.
Bob Kolbrener will be present for an artist's reception October 24, from 4:00 to 6:00pm.
The Ansel Adams Gallery and Blue Earth are proud to host an inspiring photo exhibit and lecture series featuring our dramatically changing planet titled "Changing Earth: Photographer’s Call to Action" opening September 19, 2009 at Mumm Napa Fine Art Photography Gallery and running through March 13, 2010.
The exhibit features works from a variety of acclaimed Blue Earth project photographers who document earth’s changing environment and the impact of those changes on society. Blue Earth photographers and projects in the exhibit include: Daniel Beltrá (Amazon: Forest at Risk), Benjamin Drummond & Sara Joy Steele (Facing Climate Change: Global Change. Local People), Stephen Harrison (Visualizing Earth), Anne Marie Musselman (Finding Trust/The Sarvey Wildlife Project), Camille Seaman (Melting Away – The Last Iceberg), Florian Schulz (Freedom To Roam: Wildlife Corridors), John Trotter (No Agua, No Vida: The Thirsty Colorado River Delta), and Rebecca Norris Webb (The Glass Between Us: Reflections on Urban Creatures).
Mumm Napa Winery is located at 8445 Silverado Trail, Rutherford, CA 94573. Visitor center and fine art photography gallery hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily.
Lecture Schedule
Nov. 7th - Drummond/Steele, "Facing Climate Change"
Dec. 5th - Camille Seaman, "Connection and Purpose"
Feb. 6th - Stephen Harrison, "Visualizing Earth"
Mar. 6th - John Trotter, "The Future of the Colorado River"
TBD - Florian Schulz, "Freedom To Roam"
This beautiful photograph is by William Neill, Cloud Reflections and Mt Moran at the Oxbow Bend on the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.PRIZES BASED UPON THE ANSEL ADAMS GALLERY JURY DECISION:
View Contest Rules
Submit Your Masterpiece - Click here to Enter
Questions or Comment, please email photocontest@anseladams.com
Announcing The Ansel Adams Gallery National Park Photography Contest.
