Ansel Adams Photographs Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ansel Adams Photographs - Research Paper Example Fine arts, therefore, were visual in nature and dealt primarily with aesthetic value while applied arts mainly focused on the purpose of such arts and how they could be used in day to day operations. More and more description of art continues to manifest with the most recent one defining it as a reflection of human creativity. At the beginning of the 20th century, the significance of different forms of art had been classifies in to nine categories. These include; film, comedy, painting, architecture, dance, sculpture, music, poetry and lastly photography. Another variation that had been developed included the establishment of design and graphic arts in place of plastic and visual arts as well as the introduction of other terminologies advertising, television, video, performance, and etcetera. We shall be placing more emphasis on the visual forms of art and more specifically the works of photography done by one Ansel Adams. His black and white classical photographs created a revolutio n in the field of photography. The paper will discuss the various elements of art used in his photographs as well as the meanings they convey. Clear definition of the artistic nature of photography will come out in this research. Background Information Born and raised in a wealthy family in 1902, San Francisco, Ansel Adams was a typical teenage boy. His shy and introvert nature coupled with an attack by a hyperactive disorder forced him to undertake most of his learning at home. It was during his home learning lessons that he stumbled upon a book by James Mason that transformed his life altogether. The book fueled his love for nature and soon they relocated to Yosemite National Park where he managed to coin his skills in photography. Using his camera donated to him by his parents, he managed to capture breath taking pictures of the landscape in the park. It is these photographs that marked the beginning of an incredible lifetime artistic productivity. His first debut published photo graph appeared at the Sierra Club bulletin where he worked as a caretaker at the time. Later on in 1927, he received an award for his critically acclaimed image of a landmark in Yosemite known as the ‘Monolith, the Face of Half Dome’1. He claims that he had visually pictured the result of the photograph before he even clicked away his camera. In his own words, he stated that the image had a distant sharp peak against the backdrop of a dark sky with deep shadows and a brooding form. It is these elements that became the foundation of all forms of visual art. He later on married his longtime girlfriend and musician, Virginia Best, with whom they bore two children, Michael and Anne. Both siblings also got involved the photography and later on took charge of the family business after the passing away of Adams and renamed it the Ansel Adams gallery. Other exemplary works of photography done by Adams include; photographs of skiing and ice skating as well as sledging, which was used by the government to promote winter tourism. Addition, he also took extensive photographs of the inventory of the structure of the historic Ahwahnee Hotel before it got transformed into a hospital by the U.S. Navy. Photographs of Kings and Kern Rivers used by congress to deliberate for the creation Kings Canyon National Park had been captured by his powerful lens2. Additionally, he managed to document a Japanese American internment camp, popularly known as Manzanar, through the use of photographs. His ability to visualize the outcome of

Obama or Romney Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Obama or Romney - Essay Example Firstly, this brief essay will consider Romney. Romney claims to have a very different view from the President with regards to the Affordable Health Care Act of 2009. However, the fact of the matter is that while governor of Massachusetts, Romney instituted a healthcare plan statewide that served as the very inspiration for the later adoption of the Affordable Health Care Act. As such, Romney continues to attempt to distance himself from this and claim that if he is elected president he will do all in his power to overturn the legislation. Obviously, such a disconnect from action/practice and actuality does not help Romney to appear as a steadfast candidate with regards to this particular issue. Similarly, much the same is true with regards to Romney’s stance on abortion. While campaigning for the gubernatorial race of Massachusetts, Romney went out of his way to emphasize that he was a pro-choice candidate. Similarly, most of the issues that involved abortion he masterfully d odged without coming down too hard in either direction. Yet, as he is running for a nationwide audience now and not merely for the gubernatorial candidacy of a small moderately liberal northeastern state, Romney has tracked to the right significantly and now claims that he will make it a policy directive to use his power to enforce the â€Å"sanctity of life†. Such a disconnect from his prior positions begs the question to what degree Romney is merely playing to the base of the Republican/conservative movement and what degree he actually espouses such a newfound believe in the sanctity of life. The case with Obama is somewhat different. Due to the fact that Obama is a sitting president, it is much easier to measure his actions against the words that he spoke back in the 2008 presidential election cycle. Although like any politician, Obama has embellished a bit and claimed to be able to perform feats that no president be reasonably expected to perform, the fact of the matter i s that in regards to the main issues, Obama has remained decidedly issue oriented and issue focused. With respect to his campaign promise to engage with Congress to create a lasting and historic solution to the issues that face many Americans in regards to healthcare, Obama, with the help of a Democratic controlled Congress, enacted the Affordable Health Care Act of 2009. Additionally, Obama has also made good on his campaign promise to cease military operations within Iraq and bring the majority of combat troops stationed there back home. This campaign promise and its ultimate implementation was an important step due to the fact that it allowed him to take an increased role of tracking al Qaeda and in helping the United States to locate and kill Osama bin Laden; the mastermind of the September 11th attacks that killed over 3,000 United States citizens. It should be noted though that this author does have a strong issue with the President’s foreign policy. Whereas he campaign ed on a platform of military non-aggression and sought to bring the majority of US combat troops home as a function of ending the pointless Iraq war, he entirely failed to keep the