Prompt #9

 According to Ansel Adams, you do not "take a photograph, you make it".
This statement can be interpreted in several ways, I think. But the way that Ansel Adams means it is that the photographer is in control of the situation and not the scene in front of you. As a photographer, you manipulate the scene to do what you want it to do within the camera.

Although I do believe this is what he means, I'm not entirely sure it's true. I think there are plenty of photographs you just "take". Ones you don't think about about. Quick shots you take when you want to remember something really special, but you don't have time to make a presentable image, so you simply snap 10 images every minute until your memory card is undoubtedly and regrettably filled up. These days one can take a picture from his or her computer monitor and phone. My phone, for instance, simply takes pictures on it's own an then three months later I have to delete 20 black pictures.

Of course, these are probably not considered photographs as Adams intended them, but I'm sure plenty of photographs were taken accidentally and by non-professionals that these types of images are not a new concept, even if they are created differently. I think Adams makes all his photographs, but not everybody does.