The Camera is the first volume of a three volume set of photography instruction books by Ansel Adams that were first published in 1980. The edition I have is the 23rd paperback printing, printed in 2018.
I first read this series in 2005 when I started working full time as a videographer, looking to better my understanding of the craft. A year ago I got my first video camera that uses interchangeable lenses, and have subsequently bought myself a still camera that can use the same lenses. So now I hope to take photographs and not just videos, and it seemed like a good time to revisit these books.
I have greatly enjoyed rereading The Camera.
The basic crux of Adam’s approach to photography can be summed up in one word: visualization. As he says, “The term visualization refers to the entire emotional-mental process of creating a photograph, and as such, it is one of the most important concepts in photography. It includes the ability to anticipate a finished image before making the exposure, so that the procedures employed will contribute to achieving the desired result” (1). Photographs are of course art and are a representation of the world, not reality itself. Adams goes on: “Photography involves a series of related mechanical, optical, and chemical processes which lie between the subject and the photograph of it. Each separate step of the process takes us one stage further away from the subject and closer to the photographic print. Even the most realistic photograph is not the same as the subject, but separated from it by the various influences of the photographic system. The photographer may choose to emphasize or minimize these ‘departures from reality,’ but he cannot eliminate them” (1). In order to visualize what your version of reality will look like, you need to know every part of the system that affects the final image. In this book, Adams focuses on the physical camera, body and lens.
There is nothing earth-shatteringly original in Adams’s philosophy or his approach. The value of this book over similar books is as follows. First, Adams writes with clarity and precision. He doesn’t talk down to his reader, but nor does he assume you know anything other than the most basic knowledge of photography. I appreciate his tone, avoiding both the school master condescension or avuncular buddy tone that so many other instructional books that focus on hobbies employ. Second, Adams keeps a laser-like focus on his thesis and doesn’t go off on tangents that have nothing to do with how the camera and lenses affect the image. He doesn’t hesitate to go into depth when the subject warrants it, but he has a great knack for getting to his point and then moving on. Third, the book is full of useful illustrations and diagrams that are clearly laid out. And fourth, the book is full of Adams’s own photographs on high quality paper. Don’t underestimate what a beautiful experience that is.
Having said all that, I understand why some readers won’t rush to this book. It hasn’t been revised or re-edited since its original release in 1980, so the book is unaware of digital photography and the diminished use of film. As such, there’s lots of advice about handling your film to protect it from improper exposure. Moreover, Adams makes the assumption that you can’t see what the picture will look like until days later when you get your film developed. He didn’t have the leisure of taking test photos and examining them on the spot, making adjustments, and then taking more photos. Photographic technology has come a long way in the nearly 40 years since this book was published.
But it’s no coincidence that this book is still being published in spite of all those changes. It’s not merely because Ansel Adams has the name recognition to sell the book. If the book was useless, it would sell only as a collector’s item. No, the book stands the test of time because it doesn’t matter how much the way the camera captures the image has changed, because the camera, the lens, and the shutter all work the same as they did 40 years ago. Depth of focus, lens focal lengths, convergence, angle of view, and exposure ranges all work the same way. Knowing how all those things and more affects the way the world is reflected and captured by the camera is what the book is all about, and as a photographer, that is exactly what you want and need to know.
Personally, I’ll be returning to chapter 5 (“Lenses”) and chapter 7 (“Basic Image Management”) repeatedly. I was especially surprised in this reading how enlightening I found chapter 10 (“View-Camera Adjustments”) to be. I don’t work with a large-format view camera, and I don’t have any plans to invest in a large-format view camera, but seeing all the controls such a camera gives you changed the way I think about photographic images. Even looking through professional photographs online I can see which ones used a view camera with the ability to tilt, shift, and swing the lensboard and the rear standard. After reading the chapter, I was able to see how similar affects could be created using a standard 35mm camera and Photoshop.
If you want a quick guide to get you up and taking photos, this is not the book (or the series) for you. That’s what Youtube is for, yeah? Go and watch a few 15-minute videos and you’ll have what you need to start experimenting on your own. In this age of quick learning (and don’t get me wrong, I love this age of quick learning), instructional books serve a different purpose than they served in the previous centuries. Instructional books need to hold material that’s worth returning to, that’s worth studying. That’s why The Camera is still in print today