I have always liked the work of Ansel Adams and naturally my eye got drawn to a recent article about him in The Daily Telegraph. Journalist Colin Gleandell wrote a fascinating, matter-of-fact, article about Adams’ most famous photograph – Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico. The thing about Ansel Adams and his work is how the sheer skill and quality knocks the socks off most photography in this day and age. Not bad considering Moonrise was taken in 1941 with comparatively primitive equipment.
The article explains how he took the Moonrise photograph. Adams had been out all day photographing in the New Mexico landscape and was driving home when he happened to see the Moonrise scene. He stopped his car, set up his equipment (which I believe was a plate camera and involved a dark cloth to peer at the upside down, back to front image), tripod and separate exposure meter. The light was changing fast, so seconds counted when it came to getting the image exactly right.
Since capturing the photograph, Adams has continued his art in the darkroom by, so it is said, producing around 1,300 Moonrise prints over several years. According to the article the highest value was $609,600 in 2006, several years after his death.
Aside from the print itself and the incredible work which Ansel Adams produced (which included pioneering the famous Zone System for optimising exposure, detail and contrast), his work has been in my mind since the early 1980s when I first clocked him. To record our beautiful world in such a simple, down to earth monochrome way is simply breathtaking.
So where am I heading with this?
I’m not sure. I do have a photographic enlarger, hundreds of 35mm negatives and, I’d like to think some nice images. I even have a supply of Forte paper and this is rather nice. It is a traditional paper based material, not resin coated paper and has a lovely warm tone to it. If printed well and with the right chemicals, you can get some lovely deep, rich blacks.
This brings back memories of pre-digital photography. On a Friday night, when everyone had gone to bed I would set up my darkroom. These were the ingredients:
- the darkroom wasn’t very dark, especially when a neighbour turned on an outside light
- the enlarger was on the wobbly dining room table
- the trays of chemicals were in out kitchen, just a few feet from the dining room
- I would enjoy operating in the red glow of the safe lights
- I’d make a stack of cheese and pickle sandwiches and brew some coffee to have at hand throughout the printing session. I’m sure I must have consumed some chemicals!
- washing prints to get rid of the chemicals was done in the kitchen sink
- the finished prints were dotted around the hall way and on the stairs to dry over night
This has all got me thinking. I only have a couple of photographs up on our walls. I will glance through the prints I already have stored away but I’m wondering how long I can resist having another go at printing….
By the way, we do have a framed poster of another famous Ansel Adams photograph in our sitting room. Here you can see it with a few Christmas decorations (sorry about that, hopefully not too disrespectful to Ansel!).
