For our second major assignment in ARS 281, we visited the Greenhouse on Stony Brook campus to capture some still life photos. To gain inspiration, we were asked to research and take a look at the work of several famous photographers who tended to focus on still life and landscape photography and write about one of them. I chose Ansel Adams because I was impressed by his ability to capture the nuances of landscapes in black and white. At first glance, the decision to capture photos in black and white seems like it would be limiting. After all, color adds another dimension to photos, which allows for a greater range of expression. People have long affiliated colors with certain emotions:

• Red: Anger, embarrassment, passion, or lust.
• Blue: Shyness, sadness, or calmness.
• Yellow: Cowardice, happiness, or caution.
• Green: Disgust, envy, friendliness, or greed.
• Purple: Pride, fear, or courageousness
• Grey: Depression, regular sadness, or stoicism.
• Black: Coldness or mournfulness.
• Pink: Cheeriness, embarrassment, or love.
• White: Shock, fear, coldness, or mournfulness.

Source: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ColourCodedEmotions

However, when color is removed from a photograph, the viewer tends to focus on other aspects of the shot: composition, angles, texture, lights and shadow. I love the way Ansel is able to capture the nuance of light in his photos. Below are a couple of examples: