Non-Fiction Book Reviews

Book Review: Ansel Adams in Color

By Sandy Amazeen Dec 17, 2009, 16:39 GMT

Renowned as America\'s pre-eminent black-and-white landscape photographer, Ansel Adams began to photograph in color soon after Kodachrome film was invented in the mid 1930s. He made nearly 3,500 color photographs, a small fraction of which were published for the first time in the 1993 edition of ANSEL ADAMS IN COLOR. In this newly revised and expanded edition, 20 unpublished photographs have been added. New digital scanning and printing technologies also mean ...more

Ansel Adams amassed an amazing body of photographs and while most people are familiar with his distinctive black and white style, few are aware of his color photography. Spectacular, timeless and just as evocative now as the day they were taken, this collection builds upon that put together in 1993 by Harry Callahan with the addition of twenty previously unpublished images. James Enyeart’s extensive essay “Quest for Color” as well as several of Adams’ writings regarding the nature of color photography as an art form accompanies the striking images spanning approximately twenty years.

While it is tempting to call this a coffee table book, the writings offer depth and insight into what was then, an emerging art. They show Adams’ frustration with the evolving science of color imaging and its results thus providing a rare inside look at the artist. This would be a treasured gift for anyone interested in excellent photography, art or with a mind to learn more about one of America’s premier landscape photographers.