Ansel Adams is possibly the most recognizable name in photography. Most photographers claim he is the greatest landscape photographer in history. But what if you were shown his photos mixed into a group of other horrible photos? Would you still see the genius?
I've made some comments in the past about classic photographers that have always gotten me into trouble. Comments like: "Their work is good, especially for its time, but with current cameras, post-processing, and printing technology, their work wouldn't hold up today." Mike Kelley especially has given me endless grief for these comments, and I've always said that if he didn't know a famous photographer took the shot, he wouldn't think it was any good.
Well, we don't have to argue anymore, because I've put together a little experiment. In the video above, I grabbed eight Ansel Adams prints that have recently sold at auction, and I mixed them with seven random horrible selfies I grabbed off of Patrick and Mike's Facebook pages. I cloned them out of their own shots and made them black and white so that they would be extra "artistic."
Check out all of the images in the critique below. Can you guess which is which? Watch the entire video above to see Mike and Patrick melt down.
This video was sponsored by ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate. Also, every Fstoppers tutorial, including Mike's, is currently on sale.
And if you think there's a "best" photographer, you've taken the camera brand wars way too far.
Psssst! I've got news for you: There's no "best" camera, either.
Hysterical!! This says more about the value of photo critiques.
Funny stuff.
Back in the 80s, I remember starting out working a corporate darkroom in San Francisco - and was thrilled to print some amazing 8x10 negatives of Ansel Adam's industrial photography. Most were great, some not so much. Back in the day, his bread & butter was doing gigs for large companies.
I think, if you see the original prints in person, you'll understand why Ansel was such a genius
This type of thing is pathetic.
Imagine someone claiming to love paintings and not recognizing the Mona Lisa or someone claiming to love classical music and not recognizing Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Regardless of whether you think the Ansel Adams photos are good (I think they are great), a few of them are iconic photographs. How can someone claim to be a landscape photographer or love landscape photography and not recognize these? Really sad....
Agree, you have not seen a Van Gogh untill you have seen one in person. Same with this ridiculous test.