Ansel Adams's Quotes

Myths and creeds are heroic struggles to comprehend the truth in the world.

We must remember that a photograph can hold just as much as we put into it, and no one has ever approached the full possibilities of the medium.

The only things in my life that compatibly exists with this grand universe are the creative works of the human spirit.

In my mind's eye, I visualize how a particular... sight and feeling will appear on a print. If it excites me, there is a good chance it will make a good photograph. It is an intuitive sense, an ability that comes from a lot of practice.

To photograph truthfully and effectively is to see beneath the surfaces and record the qualities of nature and humanity which live or are latent in all things.

It is my intention to present - through the medium of photography - intuitive observations of the natural world which may have meaning to the spectators.

When I'm ready to make a photograph, I think I quite obviously see in my minds eye something that is not literally there in the true meaning of the word. I'm interested in something which is built up from within, rather than just extracted from without.

There are worlds of experience beyond the world of the aggressive man, beyond history, and beyond science. The moods and qualities of nature and the revelations of great art are equally difficult to define; we can grasp them only in the depths of our perceptive spirit.

These people live again in print as intensely as when their images were captured on old dry plates of sixty years ago... I am walking in their alleys, standing in their rooms and sheds and workshops, looking in and out of their windows. Any they in turn seem to be aware of me.

You don't take a photograph, you make it.

When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.

It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment.

A good photograph is knowing where to stand.

No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit.

Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art.

There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.

There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.

There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.

A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.

Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer - and often the supreme disappointment.

A true photograph need not be explained, nor can it be contained in words.

Not everybody trusts paintings but people believe photographs.

In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration.

Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution.

I tried to keep both arts alive, but the camera won. I found that while the camera does not express the soul, perhaps a photograph can!

Dodging and burning are steps to take care of mistakes God made in establishing tonal relationships.