Ansel Adams Moonrise - Review

Ansel Adams Moonrise, Hernadez, New Mexico

Picture the scene: it’s autumn 1941 and you and your assistants are approaching the end of a fruitless day’s work trying to capture the beauty of the US landscape for the Department of the Interior. After hours of failed exposures and missed opportunities you spot, just off Route 84 in New Mexico, a beautiful scene. The white clouds and snowcapped mountains on the far horizon reflect the setting sun; in the foreground an assortment of gravestones also throw off the sinking rays; and, in the sky above, a gibbous moon is on the rise. With the right film, set at the correct exposure, you think it could make for a truly great landscape photograph. Only, where have you put that light meter?

Ansel Adams is one of the most beloved and well known landscape photographers of the United States; his popularity has only increased since his death. By the time he wrote his first guide book Making a Photograph, he had already established the subject matter - the natural environment of United States. Adams is well known for his nicely composed landscapes which include an amazing tonal range. He loved to play piano and we can see that vibe flowing in his pictures. The way he composes the pictures is similar to the music that is produced by the keys of piano, smooth yet sharp at the same time. His work is not similar to any Street life photographer because most of his picture are pre planner unlike other Street life photographers. 

Moon rise, Hernandez, New Mexico is one of his most famous photographs. Moonrise was made on a typical Ansel trip to the Southwest in the fall of 1941 combining two commercial assignments: one for the U.S Department of the Interior at Carlsbad Caverns and the other for the U.S. Potash Company. Ansel used to make his own chemicals to print the pictures and that is something he was perfect at. We can't call anyone perfect but Ansel was probably the Picasso of printing images. Most like all of his pictures, Moonrise is also pre planned picture as its a landscape, but it has that element of realism in it. It lacks the humanity aspect but the picture is incredibly realistic. Looking at the beautiful moon, sun almost below the horizon, filling the sky with its smooth light but not fading moon's beauty, these are the things can drive you crazy and are enough to blow off your mind and fill it with freshness and happiness. The graves and the houses in the picture with perfectly composed tones give the picture more realistic touch.

Ansel Adam's Moonrise is a perfect example of well composed photograph and the reason we are calling this a photograph is the realism of the picture. According to Ansel's own words, "Not everybody trusts paintings but people believe photographs." This picture doesn't look like a painting because of its sharp focus. No one can call this picture a painting. Talking about Ansel's hardwork, what Adam has achieved in his life is just unachievable. No one can even come closer to Adam's art and what he has done for the sake of Landscape Photography is truly remarkable. He gave landscape photography a new life and it won't be unfair to call him the Best landscape Photographer of the century.

- Kamran Yousaf