Ansel Adams' Lost Los Angeles

March 23, 2006 9:36 AM

Ansel Adams' Lost Los Angeles. Flickr set
posted by srboisvert (11 comments total)

He really shouldn't post Ansel Adams images with a CC license on them. I'm sure the Ansel Adams folks will contact him to take them down anyway, as they are still under his copyright.
posted by mathowie at 9:45 AM on March 23, 2006

they're very low-res tho.
I'm not a Adams fan, and these images didn't do much to change my opinion, but thanks for the post, it's interesting stuff
posted by matteo at 9:47 AM on March 23, 2006

neat pictures. a friend of mine works the front desk at the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona (where the Ansel Adams archive is housed) and complains constantly of people who demand WHERE'S THE ANSEL???
posted by carsonb at 9:47 AM on March 23, 2006

Dude sure knew how to make a sky look big.
posted by nebulawindphone at 9:47 AM on March 23, 2006

They don't particularly spectacular to me.
posted by delmoi at 9:53 AM on March 23, 2006

I love the "they're very low-res tho" justification for violating copyright...

[/derail]
posted by twsf at 9:59 AM on March 23, 2006

The story of how these images were discovered is neat.
posted by raedyn at 10:00 AM on March 23, 2006

And the story is interesting with or without the photos.
posted by raedyn at 10:00 AM on March 23, 2006

Nice post. I liked the essay, and the whole set is an interesting look at LA in the 40s. I liked this one a lot, and I also liked the sign pleading for world peaceleaving Hitler alone from Anne Lindbergh.
posted by OmieWise at 10:22 AM on March 23, 2006

It's an interesting bit of research that suggests Adams was right to stick to landscapes (I like the composition of the opening "No Parking" shot but, perhaps tellingly, it's a very static subject). This is only a small sample, but hints his talents didn't extend far in photojournalism. I'd guess he knew that and took this job to help pay the bills. It's curious how Adams has evolved (or been marketed, maybe) into some kind of photographic quasi-deity however, whilst the work for which he is famed occupies only a niche.
posted by normy at 11:32 AM on March 23, 2006

He's more of a photographer's photographer, and the respect is attributed more to his techniques (zone system) than his subject matter (in my opinion, as a photographer).
posted by strawberryviagra at 3:13 PM on March 23, 2006