Alan Ross I Choose Film because...... it has a single-capture dynamic range that current digital technology cannot touch. ... a film negative can be printed in the darkroom with tremendous adjustments to density and contrast – adjustments which, if attempted digitally, would produce horrific amounts of “noise.” ... it is tactile. You cannot grasp a handful of pixels. ... a silver-gelatin print has a look all its own. ... seeing an image appear in the developer under an amber safelight is a special kind of magic – much more exciting than seeing an image creep out of a printer! ... there is nothing “permanent” about a digital image. What might you do if you found a box of 3 1/2 inch floppies under grandma’s bed in 2050? Floppies which once held a family’s visual history. ••• Alan Ross is an internationally respected master photographer and educator best known for his tonally exquisite black-and-white images of the American West. He honed his vision and technique while working side-by-side with Ansel Adams as his full-time photographic assistant and was integrally involved with Adams’ books, teaching in Yosemite and production of fine prints. Alan was personally selected by Adams to be the exclusive printer of the Yosemite Special Edition Photograph negatives, an assignment he has enjoyed for nearly 40 years. In 1979, Alan left Carmel to open a commercial photography studio in San Francisco. where he enjoyed working on projects ranging from world-wide campaigns for the Bank of America to landscape murals for the National Park Service. He relocated to Santa Fe in 1993 and enjoys pursuing his art, teaching, writing articles and blogs, and traveling the globe speaking about his years with Ansel Adams and the impact that had on his own work. Alan is also a consummate and dedicated photographic educator who shares his vast knowledge of the art and craft of traditional film photography, inspiring professionals and amateurs alike as they work to realize and refine their photographic voice. His photography hangs in collections, galleries and museums around the world, including the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Huntington Library and the Center for Creative Photography. Artist Statement As someone who would rather visit the dentist than talk on the phone, my photographs have become my voice, my means of expressing how I feel about the things I see and experience. A classicist, but not a purist, I take great pleasure in noticing how shapes, tones and textures can complement each other and translating that into a finished print that begs the question, “how did he do that?” I love architecture, humor, irony, grand landscapes and the tiniest of tiny details. Although I am known primarily for my landscape work, my visual interests have no real boundaries. During my years with Ansel, my three most popular images were a Yosemite landscape (my image in “I Choose Film”), a still life of an onion, and a nude. I don’t make photographs to hide them away in a box; making a print and showing it to someone is my purpose. Having someone respond with pleasure or gained insight into my world of seeing is my reward.