A Look Inside Landscapes

When I think of landscape photography I think of scenic nature photos and after reviewing the work of Ansel Adams and David Bayles, I can see my vision resembles most of Adams’s work. Adams has a very naturalistic style to his photographs and when you look at his shots you know that he loves nature. I really liked Adams’s photo of Mt. McKinley. I love the far depth of field that is focused on everything from the calm lake all the way back to the rigid mountains. It is truly a beautiful photograph. I also really like the set “surf sequence.” The angle is magnificent and it’s very cool how quickly the subject matter can change in just a few seconds. One photo of Adams’s that is not my favorite is “On the Heights.” This is the photograph where the tree is close up while there are mountains in the background. I think this photo looks very fake. The lighting on the tree looks unnatural and almost as if the tree was cut from another photo and pasted on this shot. Like Ansel Adams, after looking through David Bayles’s photographs I believe he too loves the outdoors, specifically trees. I thought most of Bayles’s photographs were very attractive. Some of the close ups of the logging men are stunning. I specifically like the one of the old man with the wrinkly face and squinty eyes. He seems tired and his wrinkles make me wonder how long he has been a logger. I also love the photograph of the logger who is walking down the trail with the sunlight gleaming upon him. He looks so little in the forest yet he is the one who has the power to tear the whole works down. Another one of my favorites is the photo of the logger with the cables over his shoulder. The shallow depth of field keeps the focus on the subject by blurring out the background. This man’s expression makes him look young, strong, and determined. From the portfolio “urban forest” was a very interesting photo of a tree that is behind a fence. I interpreted this photo as a message that we are invading nature and not allowing it to grow. Although both photographers like to capture nature shots, Bayles has a whole portfolio of portraits (loggers). It seems Adams was more interested in capturing photos of nature in its purest form. I believe the purpose behind Adams’s work is to show the beauty of nature and to promote the idea of preserving it as well. He loved photographing in national parks and went through great amounts of labor to get a snapshot to share with others. He also didn’t mind charging less than expected for his photographs in order to let people get their hands on his work. Bayles on the other hand seems to have made his photographs for numerous reasons. He loved photographing trees in their natural state and within cities. His reasoning for doing this was to capture the calm of a tree despite all the chaos around it. In his portfolio “falling trees”, Bayles is trying to capture the movement and energy of a tree that is about to shake the earth simply to have it on record. He doesn’t stop here however. He also goes behind the scenes of these falling trees when photographing the loggers. Bayles did this portfolio in order to tell the stories of the dirty loggers as requested by his friend. Both of our photographers have their own reasons for making the photos they shoot. Whatever the reason, these photographs are snapshots of the interests of those behind the camera.