1. The Arts and Literature have a profound impact on our lives and the way we live them. Describe a piece of artistic expression and the effect it has had on you.
A particular photograph has made a great impression on me.
My favorite photograph is a black and white artistic expression taken by the world famous photographer, Ansel Adams. The photograph is one which depicts the giant snow covered mountain, El Capitan, in Yosemite National Park, California.
Ansel Adams' stark portray of the majestic El Capitan is the most deeply moving photograph that I have ever seen. To me, this photograph expresses the heroic nature of one of the most beautiful mountains in the State of California. The black and white print seems to speak its own language because it shows a beauty that cannot be expressed through words alone; this photograph, more than any other, expresses the timeless and extraordinary beauty that can be found in nature.
One of the reasons that this particular photograph speaks to me is because the tone is so dramatic. The harshness of the black and white lines emphasizes the mood that the photographer intended to convey. Nothing stirs my soul so much as the beauty that I have seen in nature, and particularly the outdoors. This photograph seems to say that nothing is grander than this giant rock-faced mountain and this makes the picture divine and more picturesque than a poem or story about this mountain could ever tell.
I hung this photograph opposite my bed so that every morning, when I wake up, I look at old El Capitan and think that nothing that man does will ever compare to the gifts that nature has given us. Personally, I am very visual, and thus, just looking at this picture gives me a sense of tranquillity. I like the way the light lands on the face of the mountain, as well as the composition of the piece, which does nothing to interrupt the form of the mountain. This photograph, more than anyth...