Ansel Adams

In my mind's eye, I visualize how a particular... sight and feeling will appear on a print. If it excites me, there is a good chance it will make a good photograph. It is an intuitive sense, an ability that comes from a lot of practice. ”

A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed. ”

The only things in my life that compatibly exists with this grand universe are the creative works of the human spirit. ”

Not everybody trusts paintings but people believe photographs. ”

When I'm ready to make a photograph, I think I quite obviously see in my minds eye something that is not literally there in the true meaning of the word. I'm interested in something which is built up from within, rather than just extracted from without. ”

A true photograph need not be explained, nor can it be contained in words. ”

No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit. ”

There are worlds of experience beyond the world of the aggressive man, beyond history, and beyond science. The moods and qualities of nature and the revelations of great art are equally difficult to define; we can grasp them only in the depths of our perceptive spirit. ”

To photograph truthfully and effectively is to see beneath the surfaces and record the qualities of nature and humanity which live or are latent in all things. ”

It is my intention to present - through the medium of photography - intuitive observations of the natural world which may have meaning to the spectators. ”