Photos that Inspire

A photograph that has inspired me is Ansel Adams’s Rose and Driftwood. I used to think that photography is just being in the right place at the right time and capturing a moment. This was the first time that I looked at photography as an art and a science. Ever since high school photography class I have been a big fan of his work and it was amazing to see his work in person when I came to DC. There was always something magical in his photographs for me.

I saw this photograph at the Corcoran in my sophomore year and it stood out to me above all of the other great works by Adams. I remember standing there for a long time, looking at every detail. As part of the f/64 club, Adams believed that a photograph should have a great depth of field, moving away from painting-like photography. Everything is so sharply in focus that it no longer seems real.

I love the texture in this photograph. You could trace every line in the petals and every ridge of the wood. The contrast of the rose petals on hard wood in particular is what drew me to it. Just by looking at it, you can get a sense of how soft the petals are.

There is a great range of color, from pure white to black with the full spectrum of grays creating an incredible 3 dimension image. I like that the outer petals are a darker color than they would be expected to be. Looking at Adams’s work I have often wanted darker colors in my black and white photographs as well to try to bring out as much texture as possible. The shadows also work to create a depth to the rose. After taking Black & White photography I can fully appreciate the process it took to have perfect exposure.