Ansel Adams’ Yosemite: The Art of Seeing

Yosemite National Park

October 9 – 13

Film or Digital

(Special Note: A Leica S2 Digital Camera Will Be Available for Use During the Week)

Overview

During his career, Ansel Adams photographed many places, but it was to his beloved Yosemite that he returned year after year and where he made his first expressive images.

Let Alan Ross show you Ansel’s Yosemite and help you take your photography to new levels of expression, sharing the knowledge and experience he gained by teaching and working alongside the master.

You will learn to isolate and evaluate the elements of a scene, translate the literal to the expressive, and use optics and exposure to best effect.

Visits to many of Ansel’s favorite locations in Yosemite will provide inspiration and insight, with demonstrations, practice sessions and critique laying the foundation for individual photographic advancement.

What You’ll Learn

Among the important topics covered during each intensive week:

• How equipment choice impacts your final image
• Choosing a lens and using it well
• Optics and exposure
• Filters—when and how to use them
• Evaluating a scene and managing the details
• Tonality
• Translating what’s in front of you to what’s in your mind’s eye
• Preparing the image for printing
• Printing and presentation–bringing your vision to life on paper

Evenings will be spent on group and individual critique sessions, printing demonstrations, and engaging discussions about identifying and expressing personal vision.

A specially designed hybrid darkroom will be available for developing film, scanning negatives and downloading images. You will also have a rare opportunity to photograph with the Leica S2, a premier medium-format digital camera. Visit Leica’s S2 product page for details about the camera.

By the end of the workshop, you will have the tools and methodology you need to respond to your vision with confidence.

Choosing Your Session

The April session will find the Valley quieter than in the summer months, but with the falls starting to build, the river flowing and the ferns and other flora waking up. You’ll spend plenty of time streamside as well as searching for the grand vistas and intimate details of Yosemite Valley.

October is “anything can happen” time in Yosemite. The falls will likely be nearly dry and the Merced River low and quiet, but the opportunities will still abound for everything from details to spectacular vistas. A day trip to the high country of Tioga Pass and over to Lee Vining and Mono Lake is planned to take advantage of the fall color.

Details

This workshop is offered through the Ansel Adams Gallery. Fee is $1,250 for the week and lodging has been reserved in the Park for workshop participants. Registration is through the Park Concessionaire, Delaware North Corporation. To register now, click here.