Quotes by Ansel Adams

You don't take a photograph, you make it.

No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit.

It is my intention to present - through the medium of photography - intuitive observations of the natural world which may have meaning to the spectators.

In my mind's eye, I visualize how a particular . . . sight and feeling will appear on a print. If it excites me, there is a good chance it will make a good photograph. It is an intuitive sense, an ability that comes from a lot of practice.

There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.

Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter.

Not everybody trusts paintings but people believe photographs.

The negative is comparable to the composer's score and the print to its performance. Each performance differs in subtle ways.

There is nothing worse than a brilliant image of a fuzzy concept.

In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration.