Book Review: The Camera by Ansel Adams
Damien Franco | Sep 29, 2008 | Comments Comments
Ansel Adams has long been known as one of, if not the, most influential and famous photographers ever. His knowledge of photography and cameras, especially in the technical area, are unsurpassed. Ansel Adams was an artist, craftsman, and precise technician in the field of photography.
The Camera by Ansel Adams
In reading The Camera by Ansel Adams I found myself whisked away into a time, long before mega pixels and photoshop, in an era of an emerging art form with a medium still in it’s infancy. I think we tend to forget just how young photography really is and that the photographers of old are much like we are today, struggling with ever changing advancements in technology.
Cameras are tools designed to allow photographers to capture imagery. The camera does not take the image, rather the photographer uses a camera to make an image or capture a moment in time.
We’ve been spoiled, no doubt, by cameras that are closer to computers than thier pinhole ancestors.
So, as photographers in this digital world, can we learn from a book written by a master of yesteryear? Of course we can.
Consider that The Camera is a book about the technical and mechanical aspects of capturing an image and appreciate that, even though the focus of this book is on the equipment, Adams opens the book with a chapter on visualization. He describes photography as “a series of related mechanical, optical and chemical processes which lie between the subject and the photograph of it.”
The book discusses the mechanical and technical aspects of cameras, optics, and various other accessories in a complete and detailed format. This journey of the history of our image capturing device begins at the pinhole camera. The basics of camera functionality are spelled out in concise and easy to consume segments that would have any camera gear-head or photography historian engaged to their fullest.
As a learning tool for the operational behaviour of a camera and the understanding of image formation and focal length as well as depth of field and various other foundational elements of photography, this book simply can’t be beat.
I’m hard pressed to suggest that every person should read this book. I’m very much glad that I did. Certainly I will refer to Adams’ writings in the future.
I do think that any serious hobbyist, who truly wants to “get to that next level” would benefit greatly from this reading.
Every professional or aspiring artist/photographer needs this book on their shelf. The mere consumption of which is bound to, at the very least, give a better understanding and a greater appreciation towards the tools of our trade.
My favorite line in the book:
“If we understand the ways in which each stage of the process will shape the final image, we have numerous opportunities to creatively control the final result. If we fail to comprehend the medium, or relinquish our control to automation of one kind or another, we allow the system to dictate the results instead of controlling them to our own purposes.”
We’ve seen a resurgance of film enthusiasts and that, in itself, has been exciting. If you’re shooting old school and want a better understanding of how a camera works and why the camera makes images look the way that they do, this book is for you.
Simply put: Highly recommended.
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