Moonrise, Hernandez

 

Ansel Adams

            Isn’t it just breathtaking? After a tiring and frustrating day of trying, precisely arranging the background and the other objects, to capture the perfect image that Ansel Adams saw in his mind, he was unable to render a pleasing image of his interpretation on a negative. While driving home along the highway near Espanola, Adams happened to glimpse sideways out of the car window and saw that famous scene called, Moonrise, Hernandez. Intending to take a duplicate negative as he appreciated the uniqueness of the scene Adams attempted to set up again, but it was too late. Just as he was getting ready with a second negative plate, the sunlight passed and the precise lighting effect of the scene was lost. 

In Moonrise, Ansel Adams has stimulated our eye by offering three layers, each with a different tone: the black sky, the white clouds, and the gray landscape. Under the last light of day we see the village of Hernandez, nestled among the tree-lined. Sage covers the ground. Burning wood drifts its warm, fragrance from chimneys. Even the snowcapped mountains only punctuate the meeting of the sky and earth. A broad stroke of white clouds spans the horizon, while just above the waxing moon beams down. The night is pitch-black and yet, somehow we can see. Each object appears to be lit from within: village, graveyard, and church. Whoever says photography isn’t art, hasn’t seen this photography or any of Adams works.

            Known as an American photographer who shot photographs of the American West in black-and-white, Ansel Adams was given his first camera, Kodak No. 1 Box Brownie, at the young age of 14. In 1919, he joined the Sierra Club which was vital to Adams's early success as a photographer. He was the photographer when the group went on outings; Adams began to realize that he could earn enough to survive. His photographs became works of art. By 1935 he was recognized as one of the best photographers in America.

"My photographs have now reached a stage when they are worthy

 of the world's critical examination. I have suddenly come upon a new style

which I believe will place my work equal to anything of its kind."

-Ansel Adams