Ansel Adams' Legacy Photography Class

Sightseeing  :  United States  :  California  :  Yosemite Valley  :  Photography Tours

This small group walking tour and photo class will take you to select locations in Yosemite Valley, guided and taught by a Staff Photographer from The Ansel Adams Gallery.

You will visit different sites within Yosemite Valley based on what the current conditions suggest will provide the most photogenic views. You will learn about some of Ansel's important innovations in photography, technical aspects of light and exposure, and their application to using your digital camera. Our goal is to improve your proficiency with a camera and give you the tools to further develop your artistic vision.
Ansel never stopped exploring, or stopped learning how to use camera and film technology to express his artistic vision. Through The Ansel Adams Gallery's Photo Education program, you will also gain practical knowledge to improve your ability to record your explorations and realize your artistic vision. 

This class is designed as an introduction to Ansel Adams, the man and his legacy, and how to apply his technical methods to your use of digital cameras. Photography is a highly technical art form, and yet with some simple instruction it is possible to make sense of it and use the capabilities of today's technology to create the image you "visualize". Specifically, there will be discussion of aperture settings and aperture priority, shutter speed, ISO, and using histograms to optimize your exposures.

The class will meet at The Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite Village and walk from there. Participants will spend 4 hours in the field, walking to different locations, and returning to the Gallery. The terrain is mostly flat, and for the most part along paved trails, approximately 2-3 miles (3-5km). There will be four to five stopping points, some of which you will recognize from Ansel Adams' photographs, and the group will have an opportunity to ask questions, discuss Ansel and photography, and begin to understand the composition and technical choices Ansel made while making that image.

Recommended for beginner to intermediate camera technical proficiency.

This is a field-oriented class, with discussion focussed on Ansel Adams, camera technique and composition. Please dress accordingly for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes.

The route can easily be customized to accommodate participants in wheelchairs, although we ask you contact us in advance for us to plan accordingly.

The Ansel Adams Gallery is an authorized concessionaire of the National Park Service.