VOCABULARY

Thunder Clouds by Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams is known for his dramatic black & white photographs of the American West. I chose this photograph because of it's boldness. Adams has taken this shot from afar, so it is almost difficult to realize he has taken this shot at a low angle, looking up at the mountains & sky. He has used a long depth of field, capturing everything in detail, but has used cropping as a tool to emphasize the size of the cloud, without showing much of the foreground. Although the mountains are the closest object to the lens, the cloud captures my eye, as it bellows over the mountain tops, becoming the focal point of the photograph. He has also emphasized the size and texture of the cloud using positive and negative space. It's almost like a negative sillhouette, with the cloud being the positive space. The bold, sharp black and white tones really enhance and compliment this image, and the natural light that falls on the right hand side of the photograph creates a harsh 'candyfloss' texture on the cloud (as opposed to the smooth, crisp texture on the mountains - also creating a contrast between them).

:)