Yosemite and the High Sierra

Fantastic book condition! I'm very happy.

This is my first Adams portfolio, although I do also have Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs.The book starts with an introduction by John Szarkowski, which takes the form of a 17 page essay about the place of landscape photography and painting in the history of art, the relationship of Adams to Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada, and the progression of his artistic vision from the "private, lyrical and classical" early works to a "public, epic and declamatory" later style. Although the essay is not light reading I (somewhat to my surprise) found it worth persevering.The portfolio consists of 75 plates. The first five, which are placed before the introduction as an extended frontispiece, were all taken from the aptly named New Inspiration Point. They show the Yosemite valley in winter, summer, during a storm, and at night. The sequence ends with the iconic Clearing Winter Storm. It is a lovely visual introduction to the volume, contrasting the same scene in different moods as determined by the season, lighting and weather. The remaining plates provide a mix of images that I am familiar with (Tenaya Creek, Dogwood, Rain; El Capitan, Winter Sunrise; Monolith, The Face of the Half Dome; Frozen Lake and Cliffs) and many others that I have not seen before and which will allow me to gain a deeper knowledge of, and appreciation for, Adams' body of work. One, Yosemite Valley, Thunderstorm, 1949, is already a new favourite. The portfolio is dominated by grand landscapes, although with a smaller number of more intimate pictures (Leaves, frost, Stump, October Morning; Fern Spring, Dusk; Sugerpine Boughs and Lichen). I like the variety in the selection as well as the fact that it includes all his best known photographs of the area. The reproductions are (to my untrained eye) excellent, with fine resolution and good tonality from highlights to shadows. Most of the landscape orientation images are about the size one gets when printing with a small margin on 10 x 8" paper. A few are smaller (about 8 x 6") for no apparent reason; except that the smaller ones are typically the more intimate scenes which do not suffer significantly from the smaller reproduction size (although I would still have preferred to see them the same size as the others). Fortunately all the vistas are printed 10 x 8, which is about the minimum size that I would consider acceptable for them. Portrait orientation images are slightly smaller - 8.5 x 7" or so. The paper is good quality, glossy and bright although perhaps not quite thick enough since one can still see the (fortunately fairly faint) outline of the image from the reverse of the page even when the page is laid flat, although this has not detracted from my enjoyment of any of the photographs. Images are presented one per page - sometimes the facing page is another image, and sometimes it is a short quotation. Importantly for me, photographs are never spread across two pages with the gutter intruding into the image area. There are a couple of very faint marks on what should be white areas - perhaps where ink has transferred from the facing photograph - but these are minor blemishes that do not spoil my enjoyment of the book.The book ends with a collection of some of Adams' writing - mostly forwards to various books of photographs of Yosemite or the Sierra Nevada. Four of the informative descriptions of the creative process from Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs are also included.

This is a must have book for all Ansel Adams admirers. This selection showcases the area of the country that Adams loved so much. The photos are breathtaking. Add in the stamina and nerve it took to get to the perfect spots to photograph these scenes, carrying heavy equipment, one can appreciate them all the more. Pictures are a good size and good quality. Not as good as the originals, of course (some of which I've had the pleasure of seeing in person), but still very good as far as reproductions in books go. Purchased this book used and it was exactly as advertised. A bargain.

This is not my first Ansel Adams book, and I don't believe it will be my last! Yosemite was one of his preferred places for photographing, and it is also one of mine go to place when thinking about photography, together with Machu Picchu, Grand Canyon, etc. This is a very beautiful book, showing his great technique on photography and knowledge around the park. Before visiting Yosemite, take a good look at this book..., your visit will be enriched by his experience.

Ansel Adams photographs are always a delight, and this book has many of the familiar famous ones. I really like this aspect of the book. However, I thought it was a paperback. I probably did not look at the description closely enough. But be on notice in case it is in error. Also the book is an odd size and I had to patch up a mailing envelope to fit it when I sent it on to the final recipient overseas.

I give the book five stars, but Amazon's shipping department about two stars. The book was shrink-wrapped, but the bottom right edges of all pages were bent from bouncing around in a box that was WAY too big. Hey Jeff B. - please spend less time on Kindle and more time on quality control and customer satisfaction. Regular Amazon customers know that mine is not the first or only complaint about poor shipping practices. (And yes, the book itself is beautiful...)

Wonderful pictures of Yosemite, I have been to the park many times and Ansel Adams pictures make me dream of going back. A lot of pictures taken in the winter, which is a rarer sight.A great gift for nature lovers, photographers and people visiting.

My husband and I are big into Yosemite and I blindly ordered this book to use as the guest book at our wedding and it worked out perfectly! The photos are beautiful and the lay out has plenty of white space. High resolution photos, good paper quality, and heavy cover weight make it a very classy book.

Quality photos from Ansel Adams who has a gallery in Yosemite.Most of these photos are taken around the time of World War 2, prior to the commercial development of YosemiteThe photos really pop off the page, in fact some of them feel like HDR, which back then wasn't possible.

love this book great condition

Dieses Album enthält 75 Fotografien von Anselm Adams aus dem Nationalpark Yosemite und der High Sierra. Die schwarz-weiss Fotos sind hohe Kunst, sooft ich das Album aufschlage, ist es mir eine große Freude, die Bilder zu betrachten.Das Buch ist etwas größer als DIN A4; die Fotos sind nicht formatfüllend sondern mit einem dickem weißen Rand und damit kleiner als DIN A4. Man wünscht sich nur noch, dass die Fotos größer wären.Dazu müsste man dann wahrscheinlich ein Bildband in der Preisstufe über 100 $ kaufen.

é un libro veramente molto bello, stampato molto bene, e altrettanto presentato. Io lo consiglio a tutti coloro che hanno già dei libri del grande Ansel Adams o vogliono comprarne. ottimo il tempismo di consegna di Amazon.

Eines der schönsten Bücher von Ansel Adams. Die gewaltige, eindrucksvolle Landschaft des Yosemite in grandiosen Fotos! Auch der Druck ist in guter Qualität. Man wünscht sich nur manchmal, dass das Format doppelt so groß wäre...