Ansel Adams quotes

Ansel Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist, celebrated for his stunning black-and-white landscape photographs of the American West. His images, particularly of Yosemite National Park, elevated photography to a fine art and helped raise awareness of conservation. He inspired countless photographers and advocated passionately for the preservation of natural beauty. Here are 54 of his quotes:

You don't take a picture, you make a picture.

Ansel Adams

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

Ansel Adams

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.

Ansel Adams

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

Ansel Adams

I have often thought that if photography were difficult in the true sense of the term -- meaning that the creation of a simple photograph would entail as much time and effort as the production of a good watercolor or etching -- there would be a vast improvement in total output. The sheer ease with which we can produce a superficial image often leads to creative disaster.

Ansel Adams

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

Ansel Adams

A good photograph is knowing where to stand.

Ansel Adams

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

Ansel Adams

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

Ansel Adams

Yosemite Valley, to me, is always a sunrise, a glitter of green and golden wonder in a vast edifice of stone and space.

Ansel Adams

Not everybody trusts paintings but people believe photographs.

Ansel Adams

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

Ansel Adams

A photograph is usually looked at - seldom looked into.

Ansel Adams

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.

Ansel Adams

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

Ansel Adams

Millions of men have lived to fight, build palaces and boundaries, shape destinies and societies; but the compelling force of all times has been the force of originality and creation profoundly affecting the roots of human spirit.

Ansel Adams

No matter how sophisticated you may be, a large granite mountain cannot be denied - it speaks in silence to the very core of your being.

Ansel Adams

Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter.

Ansel Adams

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

Ansel Adams

Some photographers take reality... and impose the domination of their own thought and spirit. Others come before reality more tenderly and a photograph to them is an instrument of love and revelation.

Ansel Adams

Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop.

Ansel Adams

If what I see in my mind excites me, there is a good chance it will make a good photograph.

Ansel Adams