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| Ansel Adams and Camera |
One of the photos I was smitten with was Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1941, it was a picture I looked at on a regular basis for several years. You really need to see a good print to fully appreciate Ansel Adams, images on the web don't do him justice. Moonrise, Hernandez, sums up a terrific photographer, artist and craftsman.
As flicked through the book in the attic, it dawned on me that my tastes have changed to such an extent that I wouldn't go out of my way to look at another Ansel Adams photograph. His style of photography was the first to grab my attention, but also the first I tired of. Still I owe him big time, so today I would like to say thank you to Ansel Adams, a great photographer.
Poor Ansel. I guess we were all inundated with posters and calendars bearing his photos in the 1970's and 80's. He became too familiar, a cliche.
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, I also don't jump at every chance to see an Ansel Adams photograph, but it's mainly because I tired of his moutain/nature subject matter, not of his methods and skills. The results he achieved are gorgeous. As you said, his talent is apparent when you stand face to face with one of his original prints. I also must admit that "Moonrise, Hernandez, NM" happens to be one of my favorite professional photographs. It is worth going out of one's way to see.
The southwestern USA is a soul expanding place to spend time in, which I've been fortunate enough to do repeatedly. One of the best journeys I took included loosely following the self guided route of a travel book called "Santa Fe to O'Keeffe Country". The itinerary includeded stopping along the road to stand in the exact places O'Keeffe stood in order to look at the exact views she had painted. As a fan, I got a charge out of that, especially when comparing the natural scene with a photo of her painting of it. Anyway, one of the other stops on that route leads you to stand in the spot from which Ansel Adams shot "Moonrise". It was a pretty cool feeling.