Ansel Adams Wannabe Series – B&W Photo No. 01

This picture was taken on our first trip to Zion National Park on 08/20/2008. It is but one of a dozen beautiful views that were available from the switchbacks along UT-Route 9 that lead up to the tunnel near the top of the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway. Ansel Adams, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the Yosemite National Park, is one of my all-time favorite photographers. Following in his tradition, I sometimes find myself trying to view what a shot will look like in B&W, even before taking the picture. In many photographs, color distracts from the overall effect of the picture; whereas a black and white photo allows one to focus solely on key forms and details that are present within the image. Changing it to black and white tones down the distractions and makes the flowing shapes much more noticeable.

Even though the original color photo was quite nice in its own right, I especially like the conversion to B&W. With just a minimum amount of cropping, the enhanced contrast provided by black and whit definitely makes the interesting ‘arch-like’ section of the mountain much more the focus of the show by appearing to to add more detail.