Images Reveal How Perfectly Ansel Adams’ Photos Align With the Golden Ratio

golden ratio golden spiral ansel adams elliot mcgucken

Ansel Adams is one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century, and photographer Elliot McGucken may have discovered a reason why. While viewing some of Adams' public domain work, McGucken realized the presence of the golden ratio in the compositions. This aesthetically pleasing principle, used by architects such as Le Corbusier and present in nature, works to help create harmony that is visually appealing.

“Great artists such as Ansel Adams exalted their art with the golden ratio—the very same ratio present in the bones of our fingers and facial features,” McGucken explains. “Whether Ansel used the golden harmonies consciously or unconsciously may remain a mystery forever.”

By breaking his landscapes and portraits into golden proportions, unconsciously or not, Adams creates balance in his photography. It's something that certainly draws the viewer into his work, aiding in its classic beauty. “With the power of conscious mathematics, the human can capture and exalt nature beyond natural state, as the master photographer Ansel Adams did by imposing his sense of the golden harmonies, by which he himself was created, upon nature.”

McGucken has overlaid many of Adams' public domain photographs with the golden spiral. For more about the golden ratio and art, McGucken has also published a free Kindle book.

Look at the balance and harmony created with the golden ratio.

golden ratio golden spiral ansel adams elliot mcgucken

golden ratio golden spiral ansel adams elliot mcgucken

golden ratio golden spiral ansel adams elliot mcgucken

golden ratio golden spiral ansel adams elliot mcgucken

golden ratio golden spiral ansel adams elliot mcgucken

golden ratio golden spiral ansel adams elliot mcgucken

golden ratio golden spiral ansel adams elliot mcgucken

golden ratio golden spiral ansel adams elliot mcgucken

golden ratio golden spiral ansel adams elliot mcgucken

golden ratio golden spiral ansel adams elliot mcgucken

golden ratio golden spiral ansel adams elliot mcgucken

golden ratio golden spiral ansel adams elliot mcgucken

golden ratio golden spiral ansel adams elliot mcgucken

golden ratio golden spiral ansel adams elliot mcgucken

golden ratio golden spiral ansel adams elliot mcgucken

golden ratio golden spiral ansel adams elliot mcgucken

golden ratio golden spiral ansel adams elliot mcgucken

golden ratio golden spiral ansel adams elliot mcgucken

golden ratio golden spiral ansel adams elliot mcgucken

golden ratio golden spiral ansel adams elliot mcgucken

golden ratio golden spiral ansel adams elliot mcgucken

golden ratio golden spiral ansel adams elliot mcgucken

Elliot McGucken: Website | Facebook
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All images via Elliot McGucken.

Jessica Stewart

Jessica Stewart is a Contributing Writer and Digital Media Specialist for My Modern Met, as well as a curator and art historian. Since 2020, she is also one of the co-hosts of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. She earned her MA in Renaissance Studies from University College London and now lives in Rome, Italy. She cultivated expertise in street art which led to the purchase of her photographic archive by the Treccani Italian Encyclopedia in 2014. When she’s not spending time with her three dogs, she also manages the studio of a successful street artist. In 2013, she authored the book 'Street Art Stories Roma' and most recently contributed to 'Crossroads: A Glimpse Into the Life of Alice Pasquini'. You can follow her adventures online at @romephotoblog.
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