I love the contrast from the white of the snow to the dark grey/black of the trunk and branches of the trees. It looks like a blanket of white with a black lone trunk, although you can see the other trees in the background. Your eyes go straight to the trunk of the main tree.
Ansel Adams was a highly accomplished photographer. Before attending private school his aunt and father had tutored him. Though all he accomplished in his schooling was a 'legitimized diploma', which is the equivalent to finishing the 8th grade, he was a still very successful. Aside from being a photographer Ansel was an environmental and activist. He was a member of the Sierra Club at Yosemite Valley. But in 1927 he took his very first fully visualized photograph, monolith, the Face of Half Dome. And Ansel was taken under the influence of Albert M. Bender. Shortly after his first portfolio was created and published. Giving Ansel the confidence he needed to continue on his creative journey and become the famous and talented photographer he is remembered as today.
Did you know? Ansel broke his nose during the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. He avoided any serious injury but an after shock threw him face first into a garden wall reshaping his face. Also, at the age of 12 he taught himself how to play piano. He was very good, but after a decade of dedicating his life to the piano he realized that was wasn't what he wanted. Last little fact, did you know his fist job with the Sierra Club was as a custodian at LeConte Memorial Lodge in Yosemite Park? It was, he was first a janitor before eventually becoming a more official member.
