Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs

Overview

Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs is a posthumous volume that presents Ansel Adams' detailed accounts of forty of his most important images. Each selection is accompanied by Adams' narrative about the circumstances of capture and the sequence of technical and printing choices that transformed a negative into a finished print. The result is both a gallery of iconic landscape photographs and a workshop in photographic decision-making.

Photographs and annotations

The forty works span familiar subjects, Yosemite, the Sierra Nevada, coastal and desert scenes, and include studies that emphasize form, texture, and tonal drama. For every picture Adams provides a compact story: where and when the exposure was made, the visual intent he brought to the scene, and the factors that motivated specific compositional choices. Alongside these narratives are contact prints, technical notations, and descriptions of how particular prints were achieved, so the reader can trace a tangible path from initial exposure to the final print.

Technical approach

A central theme is previsualization, the practice of anticipating the final print at the moment the shutter is released. Adams describes how exposure, development, and the Zone System were employed to control contrast and tonal placement, and how darkroom techniques such as dodging, burning, filtration, paper selection, and local retouching refined the image. He treats technique not as an end in itself but as a language for expressing an aesthetic judgment, showing how precise choices about negative density and printing curves serve a photographic intention.

Artistic concerns

Beyond mechanical recipes, the commentary illuminates compositional decision-making and the perception of light, scale, and mood. Adams often reflects on serendipity, moments when changing weather or shifting light altered the scene, and on perseverance, noting times when an image required repeated attempts or significant patience. He also discusses the balance between faithful representation and expressive interpretation, making clear that meticulous craft supports rather than replaces artistic vision.

Tonal and visual pedagogy

The volume functions as a master class in tonal control and visual thinking. Technical tables and step-by-step print notes are paired with philosophical remarks about seeing, simplifying, and conveying a sense of presence. By breaking complex processes into intelligible steps, the book demystifies darkroom decisions and demonstrates how subtle manipulations of tone and contrast create emotional and spatial depth.

Audience and legacy

Practicing photographers, students, and anyone interested in photographic craft will find the book both practical and inspiring. It remains a touchstone for those who wish to understand how technical mastery and aesthetic intention combine to produce enduring images. As a record of Adams' working methods and an articulation of his photographic values, the book continues to influence landscape photographers, darkroom practitioners, and educators by foregrounding the intimate relationship between seeing and making a print.