Ansel Adams (read description)

squarespace.com/tony, coupon code 'portfolio'
UPDATE: We made a mistake! The Golden Gate Bridge wasn't built when Ansel was a kid so he definitely didn't grow up looking at it. Sorry about that!
Get the audio podcast at sdp.io/podcast
Ansel Adams is the world's most famous photographer. Most people know his landscape photography, but they don't know his life. We dig into his history, business, and the secrets of his success.
SUBSCRIBE and like NorthrupPhotography
Buy the #1 book with 14+ HOURS of video on Amazon: help.tc/s
Worldwide use 10% off coupon 'KZbin': sdp.io/sdpbook
Lightroom video book $10 on Amazon: help.tc/l
Photoshop video book $10 on Amazon: help.tc/p
Photography Buying Guide on Amazon: help.tc/b
Worldwide use 10% off coupon 'KZbin': sdp.io/buybg
STARTER CAMERAS:
Basic Starter Camera ($280 used at Amazon): Canon T3 help.tc/t3
Better Starter Camera ($500 at Amazon): Nikon D5300 help.tc/d5300
Better Travel Camera ($500 at Amazon): Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II help.tc/em10ii
LANDSCAPE CAMERAS:
Good ($550 at Amazon): Sony a6000 help.tc/a6000
Better ($1,400) at Amazon: Nikon D5500 help.tc/D5500 & Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 help.tc/s35
Best ($3,150) at Amazon: Pentax K-1 help.tc/K1 & Pentax 24-70 f/2.8 help.tc/p24
PORTRAIT CAMERAS:
Beginner ($950 at Amazon): Canon T6i help.tc/t6i & Canon 50mm f/1.8 help.tc/c50
Better ($3,000 at Amazon): Nikon D610 help.tc/d610 & Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 help.tc/t200
Best ($5,300) at Amazon: Nikon D810 help.tc/d810 & Nikon 70-200 f/2.8E help.tc/n200e
WILDLIFE CAMERAS:
Starter ($1,100 at Amazon): Canon 7D help.tc/7D & Canon 400mm f/5.6 help.tc/c400
Great ($3,200 at Amazon): Nikon D500 help.tc/d500 & Nikon 200-500 f/5.6 help.tc/n500
VIDEO CAMERAS:
Beginner ($500 at Amazon): Panasonic G7 help.tc/g7 & Panasonic 14-42mm help.tc/p42
Better ($1,400 at Amazon): Panasonic GH4 amzn.to/2p5dAmD & Panasonic 14-140 f/3.5-5.6 help.tc/p140
Best ($4,300 at Amazon): Panasonic GH5 help.tc/gh5 & Metabones Speed Booster XL help.tc/mbxl & Sigma 18-35 f/1.8 help.tc/s35 & Sigma 50-100 f/1.8 help.tc/s100
DRONES:
Beginner ($400 at Amazon): DJI Phantom 3 help.tc/p3
Travel ($1,000 at Amazon): DJI Mavic Pro help.tc/Mavic
Better Image Quality ($1,500 at Amazon): DJI Phantom 4 Pro help.tc/p4p

[@7dreams1935]

One thing about Adams that deserves more attention is that he did his own processing of film and his own printing. This is important in creating the best image possible from a negative and for preserving the print's integrity for posterity. He was a very methodical photographer and demanded control over every phase of the process. He also was an experimenter and tried many films and chemicals until he found the best for his purposes.

[@stevelink21]

Richard Brookes Well said, Richard! I too, greatly admired Master Adams and his superb work! I have the following quote on my site: "The negative is the equivalent of the composer's score, and the print the performance." ~Ansel Adams

[@stevelink21]

Nice video guys, but one point, Tony...At about 15.10 when talking about his darkroom techniques, you said "The whole roll would have to be developed one way". Makes no sense, when Master Adams used sheet film for 99% of his work. He could develop each sheet (exposure) individually as required! Of course, that would apply when he shot his medium format, but that was rare, and unless I'm mistaken, in that segment clearly you're talking about his view camera work. Thanks.

[@Vicvines]

I love hearing more of these intellectual discussions about photography. And I have ADHD and I loved hearing you guys bring that up with him. Knowing he may have had it kind of gives me hope. Photography and those other creative arts are very good job choices for many people with ADHD because you can work in the moment and you can focus on something interesting. When we're actually interested in something we can focus like you wouldn't believe. And us ADHDers sometimes come across as annoying and eccentric. So this just reinforces my belief that he probably had it. (I have ADHD and a psychology degree so I'm not just making this up.)

[@TonyAndChelsea]

UPDATE: We made a mistake! The Golden Gate Bridge wasn't built when Ansel was a kid so he definitely didn't grow up looking at it. Sorry about that! 📚 Buy Our Books on Amazon! 📚 📕Stunning Digital Photography: help.tc/s 📘Lightroom 6 Book: help.tc/l 📙Photoshop Book: help.tc/p 📗Buying Guide: help.tc/b

[@FelixCervantes]

Tony & Chelsea Northrup barely two minutes and you stated a non truth. He was born in 1902 and construction of the Gate Golden Gate Bridge started in 1933. So how did he grow up seeing the Golden Gate Bridge? Is that what you mean for alternative view is that you will just make up facts that are not true? What other facts in this video that are made up? You do this with your other videos with made up facts.

[@stevelink21]

Greetings, Tony & Chelsea. Thank you for this very informative video on Master Ansel Adams! As a photographer who was honored to have corresponded with Master Adams via Kodak 3.5 x 5 inch b/w Kodak postcards, he was kind enough to correspond with me (via 5x7 b/w postcards), and introduced me to many b/w darkroom techniques such as cold light heads v. condenser illumination, dodging/burning, print development chemistry, etc. His Basic Photo Series books were a true inspiration in my "developing" interest in photography back in the '70's. Thanks again for your insights into this great master!

[@daveh6177]

You’re so true. I finally was able to afford my Seagull head in the early 90s. Still print silver gelatin to this day and it’s 2023! Don’t think the new AI can create a real silver gelatin print.

[@swingingkris]

Ansel Adams took pictures of the Golden Gate before the bridge was built; he also took pictures of the bridge itself.

[@swamphick7553]

+ Tony Northrup this is something that you two are straight up Nailing . Thank you

[@TheKnut]

I love love love this podcast. Thanks so much! This seems to be so much effort to prepare but it's certainly worth it. It's so interesting and entertaining! Thank you!

[@robertbailey8003]

He's also famous because he came at the beginning of the phone directory......................only joking :-)

[@markieman64]

This was brilliant. I actually find his architecture, colour and portraiture work really fascinating. He was so human. Well done guys!

[@DaNi323232]

I’m so glad to have stumbled upon you guys! I was looking for exactly you, I just didn’t know until know. Madly injecting whole lot of your videos.

[@chrono144]

9:32 +Tony Northup This is exactly why I love watching your videos, your childlike wonder and excitement for history and photography is one the endearing thing in youtube photography videos

[@gamerN77]

I love watching to your podcasts. There's really not a more relaxing way to spend the late evening than listening to the two of you talk about the favourite hobby of ours :) You are doing a fantastic work!

[@ocediis]

This was your first podcast that I watched. Ansel Adams as the subject drew me in. I've enjoyed your reviews and your how-to's. And from now on I'll be enjoying your podcasts. The information was fascinating and delivered in a very enjoyable way.

[@chelseanorthrup8787]

+Thomas Allen Thanks!

[@grntchstrmdws]

Another thing that his parents put in his hands, at age 13, was a season pass to San Francisco’s Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915, where he wandered the grounds daily shooting photos with his Brownie camera. It’s my understanding that he had permission to skip school that year. 19 million people visited the exposition.

[@dbc97610]

Tony, you and Chelsea are great and have taught me a lot! One small correction... You say that Ansel Adams grew up within sight of the Golden Gate Bridge. He was born in 1902 and construction on the bridge didn't start until 1933.

[@KarimHosein]

He had a nice view of the Golden Gate. Tony was in error to add, ‘bridge’.

[@phooesnax]

Thanks for taking the time to research and present these. Fairly new to channel but enjoying your work more than most of the content on youtube!

[@rachelw6822]

Loved the history of Ansel . . . really super of you to do so! It speaks volumes about who you be. Thanks . . . Rachel

[@paulinefollett3099]

Another brilliant edition regarding the history of photography. I did not know anything about this subject before watching your videos. Now I cannot get enough. Beautifully researched and well presented in true professional Chelsea and Tony style. All I can say now is MORE please.

[@mmforoozesh]

Thank you guys! This was like the most amazing podcast ever!

[@danev1969]

Chelsea and Tony, thank you for a very enlightening conversation. As an officer in our photo club, I would like to show some of your podcasts during our meetings. This particular video on Ansel Adams reveals a whole spectrum of challenges, skill and creativity that we probably all go through throughout our lives as a photographer.

[@chrisking3849]

Nice of you guys to show there are many paths to take, I refer to my photography as," more then a hobby less then a job." Something that has the promise of enjoyment.

[@ricomichel]

The zone system goes beyond just metering, it's also about development and how to get the best possible and predictable results out of black and white film. Great show btw

[@richiepangallo]

Tony & Chelsea Northrup are not only easy to watch and listen to, they are extremely informative and helpful. The camera I first purchased is a Nikon Photomic F2 when I was in High School, I remember it cost me $400 (which was a lot for a kid in high school using their own money). I was lucky to know someone who worked for the airlines and purchased it in Japan for me. I still have the camera, along with some other relics and newer models including one of the last moderate Nikon's that uses film. I had a darkroom back in the 70's and kind of put photography on the back-burner when the "pocket" cameras and digital cameras came into fashion. I recently purchased the Nikon D7200 which is probably the perfect camera for me since it offers a range of photographic options, including video which I plan on using for future KZbin videos on my "Web Series" type of media. Tony and Chelsea have an ENORMOUS amount of information, I have and will continue to support them by purchasing products and I plan on using their links to purchase even more. I think it would be a blast to hang out with Tony and Chelsea on photo shoots as their passion is similar to mine, but their knowledge and experience is light years beyond mine. If you have ANY interest in photography, you should subscribe to their channel and please support them, they really are giving way more than they know.

[@dippin1523]

The reason Ansel is so much more well known than any other photographer is because he is the greatest photographer ever period. He was the ultimate master of the medium. Today, the equivalent would be not only seeing landscape photographs like no other and mastering the view camera which is no easy task, but also inventing photoshop at the same time and full knowledge of its use all in his head.. He was a master in the darkroom like no other. The greatest. I have never seen a digital photo regardless of its sharpness ever be as sharp as his photos with as much depth and realism even if he had lenses that as you commented were "not very sharp". Just think of what really went into each of those photos. The time, the effort setting up a view camera, the precise focusing. Have you ever used a view camera and everything that goes into making an image in that format? That is an art in itself. It is nothing like a DSLR I can tell you that. You make it sound as if was by chance that he ended up like he did, like he was lucky or something. He has inspired more photographers than any other photographer. No other person has done more for photography than Ansel Adams.

[@jimmason8502]

Dude you need to get out more! He was the greatest ever because he came along fairly early in photography and he made a LOT of images. And he published books, and invented Zone. But that doesn’t mean we all have to like his work. For me it lacks a fair deal of emotion, like “so what”? Some of his prints I do like though.

[@vidualisefilms745]

You guys are great! Fantastic job on photography history! Such dedication! thank you!

[@SantaridesaKTM]

Tony, I just want to say I appreciate the audio in this vid and the communication between you and Chelsea.

[@amydoak9633]

Loved this series. Hope you guys continue to do it!

[@LoganCartwright]

I believe he was seen on nationwide TV promoting Florida oranges/juice in 1953-54? That was the million $ boost/recognition, that he surly deserved. I was half way through reading his book The Negative for the third time when the light bulb burst into a "really get now" moment and it was amazing to finally be able to pre think a contract or push-etc the neg in a reliable way. But for me the zone sys was integral. It was also his genius to visualize how he needed the neg exposed to fit the chemicals/etc in development he was going to use AND his paper choice & chems for that print, BEFORE pulling the trigger. Now try & think all that through before loosing the "golden light" moment! His ideas also worked on 4x5 chromes I used to shoot to control it's limited exposure range.

[@kickoverthestatues]

That's the first podcast that I've watched from you guys. I will now check out the rest.

[@douglaslarson532]

A wonderful podcast about Ansel Adams. The only quibble I have is that early in the podcast you mention that Adams grew up in San Francisco and you alluded to the fact that he lived where he could see the Golden Gate bridge. My quibble is that Ansel Adams was born in 1902 but the Golden Gate bridge was built between 1933 and 1937. In fact one of Ansel's famous photos is "The Golden Gate before the Bridge" which he took in 1932. His vantage for that photo must have been a ship of some sort a mile or so west of the Golden Gate.

[@bikerbrent]

I went to high school and college in Fresno (the nearest larger city to Yosemite). I got serious about photography in high school and got the opportunity in the late sixties to meet the man. What a thrill. Great presentation, and yes you must visit Yosemite sometime, but unfortunately it is not like to was. Too crowded and too controlling.

[@pcbeyond10]

Adams was not only a great artist....He was a brilliant darkroom worker. While other Photographers were struggling with 4 stops of 'latitude' (Dynamic range) He used sheet film in a 'View" camera and exposed many shots at different exposures (zone system) and printed them in 'register' in the darkroom. His shots are outstanding....Thanks for a great Podcast.

[@KarimHosein]

That is not how the zone system works. Having figured out the exposure for his highlights and his shadows which he wants to see detail in, he selects his film and exposure and develop the film accordingly. If the dynamic range was high (difference between his highlights and shadows), he would overexpose and underdevelop. If the dynamic range was low, he would underexpose and overdevelop. (Oversimplification. Also changes in concentrations and temperatures were crucial for the right amount of detail. It was a balance as important as ISO, f-stop and shutter speed). As long as your emulsion was concentrated enough, you can get the necessary latitude. Same is true today in a digital sense. As long as your sensor has a high enough saturation threshold, you can get enough latitude. HDR photography through exposure stacking is no longer necessary. That technique was useful when cameras took 8-bit JPEGs (or perhaps 10-bit RAW files). Likewise, bracketing and stacking in register was only necessary before film emulsion got advanced enough to handle the high dynamic range needed for the zone system.

[@aerialendeavor8363]

That was a great pod cast thank you !

[@elisabethlafontaine8979]

Wonderful podcast, thank you for doing all the research on Ansel Adams for us.

[@sekhar9013]

I love these podcasts guys... Great job!!

[@dickclark5237]

Nice presentation Tony and Chelsea you complement each other. And thanks for providing lots of insight into why Ansel Adams is so revered.

[@dinsdalephotography]

Great video as usual Tony - please do more of this, very interesting.

[@michaelbevington7468]

Excellent show filled with lots of things I didn't know about Adams. I finally got out to Yosemite last year in November and was there during the first snow of the season and spent a full week there. I highly recommend you two get out there. Go in the early spring or fall prior to November 15. It's amazing.

[@MohanJan1954]

Thanks for this video. Learnt a few things about Ansel Adams.

[@SVELFARO]

Thanks for this very interesting look at Ansel Adams.

[@lodgehexi]

I was going to research and study him, thank you so much! So much better than research on my own.

[@JohnAceti]

Great review of Ansel - look forward to more

[@bestwholeworld5276]

This was an enjoyable podcast. You are both so well spoken and the content flows perfectly!

[@samanshp]

Awesome job. I hope you keep doing this sort of stuff

[@woodrowclose]

Really enjoyable and great to learn something about his journey.

[@stevebrown848]

Tony said he didn't take pictures of Golden Gate Bridge, but he did do one called Golden Gate Before the Bridge. Beautiful picture, too.

[@estebanur1]

Awesome job! really llike the way you two interact, Tony taking the leading voice and Chelsea contrasting, complementing or echoing. Seeing you produces a sweet sensation/emotion. Survive the embats of emotional entrophy keep up with us!

[@kennethpreston3798]

Super interesting. Thanks so much for this. The podcasts are rockin!

[@toddroy9558]

Awesome show! Thanks a bunch.

[@marissakphotography6604]

Wow how come I haven’t seen this before?? Really loved it.

[@Sketchmee5]

Tony ,thank you for your lesson and I learned so much about Ansel Adam from you.❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@jimbishop5240]

Enjoyed the show. Thanks!

[@MaximMuir]

When you have time, please do a session about a living photographer who was the greatest protégé of Ansel Adams, namely John Sexton. He, IMO, has outdone his master Ansel, both in impact of image, and beautiful, insightful black and white photography. And, which is so rare with artists, he is a truly humble man, who still get embarrassed when people praise his genius as a photographer. One of the greatest living black and white photographers and artists:)

[@dippin1523]

i agree

[@shareurtube]

Super Podcast. So pleased that I took time to watch this presentation on so many levels.

[@fjcvideomarketing8617]

Great Job always loved Ansel Adams work have read a few articles about him over the years but this was probably the most informative information about him. Thank you guys for doing a great job week after week very informative and fun to watch.Keep up the good work

[@roundballrolls2762]

Yup, this idea sure is working. Great job and thank you.

[@Ranblv]

Nice job on the research. Great episode.

[@bart709]

Love your videos, as a history buff, young Ansel didn't take pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge because it wasn't completed until he was 35 years old, he was 33 when construction started.

[@mdturnerinoz]

Great podcast! Please keep this excellent series going! I think that showing the human side of “St. Adams” was a great thing to do. A couple of points: 1. Adams was born in 1902. the Golden Gate Bridge was started in 1933 and finished in 1937 (I walked across in the 1987 50 year celebration). So, I don’t believe he grew up seeing the Golden Gate Bridge as an early part of your podcast stated. 2. You guys should really go out to Yosemite (or at least put it on your bucket list). I’ve been there five times (lived in Silicon Valley for just under 30 years, so proximity was great) and I can tell you that the number of times your say “OMG” or the like just driving in from either the north or south entrance will break a calculator! :0) Besides, you two can then add some awesome pictures of it to your cadre of awesome pictures! Oh, and if your go, you got to at least visit the Ahwahnee Hotel or even stay there (it’s in the valley). Check out Ken Burns’ epic “The National Parks - America's Best Idea” as it has some great info on how Yosemite was set aside. Again, great podcast (and video cast).

[@nellatrab]

While I'm a bit late seeing this interesting cast, I would like to say thanks, very interesting Tony, well done! . I will mention that Ansel did some stunning color images later in his career as well. I saw some in the Smithsonian a few years ago. The book "Ansel Adams in Color" Revised edition is really nice. I read he used labs for much of his color developing due to the difficulty of the process in the 40's. Quote: Yet he (Ansel Adams) once likened working in color to playing an out-of-tune piano. America's regnant Western landscape photographer tried to control every step of picture-making, but for much of his lifetime too many stages of the color process were out of his hands. Kodachrome-the first mass-market color film, introduced in 1935-was so complicated that even Adams, a darkroom wizard, had to rely on labs to develop it. Color printing was a crapshoot in the 1940s and '50s. Again....thank you guys for this!

[@jenky1044]

As always you guys did an awesome job and I learned a lot. Thank you.

[@johnhjic2]

Great pod cast, very interesting nicely researched.

[@RogerZoul]

Very informative and entertaining. Thanks.

[@PeteD1884]

Very interesting and well presented. Thanks.

[@acousticsong-guitarco964]

14:12 "There's more than one way to go about it." I really love Chelsea's remarks about technique vs capture the moment. There is not one way, and technique is not everything either. Thank you, Chelsea!

[@LM-ek2hb]

What an entertaining team you two make!

[@hazcat640]

This is an excellent series.

[@markkasick]

I read the three Adams books in high school and was a fan all my life. But seeing the actual prints in person years later at the Art Institute of Chicago. All I am going to say, is unless you see one in person, you really can't appreciate it.

[@RR-bd4bm]

You guys rock! Many thanks!

[@RickyLJones]

Love the history lesson, great idea to do videos about some of the greatest photographers!

[@SHILLGATESCRYPTO]

I LOVE that you guys do these. So unique. You should do Avedon.

[@KanonMadness]

That famous portrait photo of ansel (the one showing in the tv) who shot it? And what camera was used it?

[@gbaerial]

Tony: you said the Red filter blocks out the Red light. No No No. The Red filter transmits the Red light and blocks the Blue and Green light. Also. Ansel shot 4x5 and larger sheet film, so he didn't have to process "rolls" all the same. He used to shoot maybe 10 sheets of film and process each one differently while he was developing the Zone System. Ansel had his string of very beautiful female assistants. Virginia kept a stiff upper lip with her Victorian upbringing. Galen Rowell never really took off until his wife, Barbara, took over the business.

[@nadiabelakbir2911]

Thank you for saving me from my boring rainy evening with your awesome content and beautiful faces 😊😂😄

[@tehfear]

Really helps to put the challenges Ive been facing in choosing a new camera in perspective. If ansel adams could do all that with cameras that were nothing by todays standard, who is to say you can get great shots with micro 4/3s.

[@MrNuri21]

Nice little insight of Ansel Adams. :-)

[@carlharrison3637]

Thanks for the video, very informative

[@staciebuckle8669]

Interesting... I have a print above my tv, as I watch this video, by Ansel Adams. Oak Tree Sunrise, 1966. Inspiring touch for watching your videos.

[@MrNx74205d]

In May of 2018 I had the chance, for a few hours to visit Yosemite. I saw maybe 15% of the area, but when I came to Yosemite Valley, I arrived in a rare place with so much you couldn't completely fit in to your lens. I can't say enough about that place. To spend a life time there....

[@gplejeune]

Tony - you may want to take a look at, "The Golden Gate Bridge from Baker Beach, Ansel Adams circ. 1953".

[@willoughby5150]

Really love these podcasts. Thanks for putting in the time and passion. Do you think you will cover David Bailey at some point?

[@curt8806]

I enjoyed this greatly!

[@sianpearcegordon2234]

A brilliant video, your best yet. Please can we have more about other photographers? Thanks

[@Callsigngrizzly]

I feel like Adams is also popular simply because his name is VERY easy to pronounce and remember. I genuinely feel like this is one of the reasons why he is so well known, you can show amazing work to people, but having an easy to remember name really helps them hold onto that info.

[@10shxf]

great video, I didn't know an awful lot about him and this really helps, very interesting , he was a great talent

[@michaelfaraday5972]

Great show TC

[@sinlokemp]

I'm dyslexic and to know of a great photographer like Ansel to be Dyslexic gives me hope :) I'm a graphic designer and an amateur photographer. Great video Tony & Chelsea :)

[@manuel926]

You guys have taught me a lot! Moreover your English is so easy to understand considering that im from Colombia!

[@plld6969]

Love what Tony said about you don't see the powerlines till you take the picture lol

[@TazmanianDevil]

Hey Tony it’s 2018 lol but I’m new to ur channel and would love to watch videos like this of the history of Photography and great photographers. I know there’s so much new technology coming out now that u cover but sometimes we lose the essence of photography and get caught up with technology so I’d love to watch videos like this.

[@teebo9844]

Thank you for sharing.

[@ferryengr]

It was great to witness the authentic love Tony has for Ansel Adams and his story. Looking for more videos about photographers from the past. I will never forget running into Ansel Adams hiking in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho in the late 1970's. He had a young assistant carrying his gear, but he had still made it up a pretty good trail at elevation (8,000+ ft - so little O2). A comment - maybe Ansel Adams did not take photos of the Golden Gate Bridge when he lived in the Bay Area (1900-1920's), because the bridge was not built yet? Or maybe you meant the Golden Gate passage itself?

[@WilliamLesourd]

Great video as always. Love your zen attitude (you both). Hope you travelled since March 2016 and found out that the World was not just Noth-America... Indeed, Ansel Adams is a great photographer, and probably the most famous "landscape" photographer in the whole world (to be dethroned some day in the future), but what he is not, is the World's most famous photographer as Tony said at the very beginning of the video. Being French, I have at least one name in mind... Let's say Henri-Cartier Bresson

[@frederickwilliams2183]

f. 64 club aka pinhole photography ! Kidding. Nice and informative video. He was friends with the late Adolph Gasser in SF. I worked nearby and would visit Gassers store on my lunch break frequently until they closed. They had a couple of original photos of Ansels in storage, I was supposed to have a look but store closed when his son retired.

[@tomallen6073]

Ansel was a great photographer and an even better photo editor, before most people knew anything about photo editing and assumed it was just his skill as a photographer.

[@RealGood10]

You guys are getting good!

[@johnbensley]

Fantastic podcast!

[@RumblestripDotNet]

OK, how about a profile on Margaret Bourke White. Lots of very cool and very important work in her portfolio.

[@jawadsaleemastro]

Thank you. very infomative.

[@SVJ001]

Excellent!