The photograph called "Tenaya Creek, Dogwood, Rain, Yosemite Valley" by Ansel Adams is a visual image of a serene Yosemite Valley. Looking at the image it makes the viewer calm down and make all the noise and chaos around them just stop so they can hear the water that is washing down the center of the picture and feel the breeze that is coming from the trees all around them.
             Ansel Adams gives the viewer of this photograph the feeling that they are actually in this place of serenity. He positions the camera just enough to make the image seem dark and mysterious but also warm and inviting. The contrast that he has made between light and dark is what makes this feeling of dark and inviting for the viewer. The light is going down the center of the picture along the river which brings the viewer's eye to this focal point but also at the same time makes the viewer kind of flow with the river. Going up and over each rock and just flowing with the current. This kind of feeling is what makes the picture seem warm and inviting. The dark elements are the trees and bushes. It makes the viewer wonder if anything will pop out of the trees, this is what gives the photo this mystery. You don't know what's lurking in the dark areas.
             Ansel Adams used the Yosemite Valley as the main focal point for the photograph. It is natural, untouched and I think that was the effect Mr. Adams was going for. There is nothing in this area that has been touched by man or machine which adds to the interest of the viewer. Since the photo is black and white it adds the natural, untouched feeling as well. Although I don't think he had much of a choice since the picture was taken in 1948 and color photographs weren't happening yet.
             If the viewer were to compare this photograph by Ansel Adams to the photo "Faces in my Garden" by David Armstrong you can see a vast difference. Not only the obvious like one is black and white when the other is in color, but the us...