Ansel Adams El Capitan

The San Francisco–born photographer Ansel Adams is celebrated for his majestic black-and-white photography that brought the deserts, mountains and forests of the American West to the public. His images, beloved for their raw beauty and the magic of their subjects, are known around the world and widely reproduced as calendars and posters.

A sickly child with little attraction to sports or games, Adams early on developed an avid interest in the natural surroundings of his San Francisco home, on the heights facing Golden Gate Park. This passion found a productive outlet in photography, which he discovered at 14, when his father gave him his first camera during a family trip to Yosemite National Park. He spent much of the ensuing decades capturing Yosemite’s vast and varied wonders.

Adams’s photographs were first published in 1921. Even these early efforts demonstrate his eye for composition and his sensitivity to tonal balance and textural contrast. In the mid-1920s, he began to play with soft focus, as in the dreamy 1927 Lyell Fork Meadows, which appears bathed in a hazy, nostalgic light. The 1948 Sunrise over Sand Dunes in Death Valley exemplifies Adams’s later experiments with stark contrasts in light and geometric framing, which transform the landscape into a near abstraction.

Find a collection of Ansel Adams photography today on 1stDibs.

Since the introduction of photography in the 19th century, it has been used to show the earth’s diverse landscapes. Modern and contemporary landscape photography continues to capture scenes of landscapes from around the world while becoming much more exploratory.

Historically, artists have played a key role in landscape preservation. Early 20th-century landscape photography provided a powerful argument for the establishment of the U.S. National Park Service a century ago, and iconic national park shots by Ansel Adams and Eliot Porter captured the public’s imagination and fueled conservation efforts.

The world of landscape photography has grown far more experimental in the last several decades, bolstered by innovative techniques and creative talents. Abstract landscape photography is often a thought-provoking exploration of bold, bleeding colors. To understand just how abstract these images can be, look no further than Jean-François Rauzier's outstanding landscape compositions.

A simpler style is offered by minimalist landscape photography and its subdued tones. These pieces tend to imbue their surroundings with a sense of serenity, making them an excellent addition to bedrooms and quiet living rooms. And like any other works of art that you’ve brought into your home, there are many ways to arrange photography in a space. Small areas, for example, are ideal for displaying more petite pieces. These can also be positioned in a cluster as a gallery wall. You can stand framed landscape photography on an easel, a mantelpiece, floating shelves or on the floor leaning against a wall.

Browse exquisite landscape photography on 1stDibs today and find an eye-catching image to complement any home or collection.