Over the Christmas vacation we made our way down to 'That London' to visit the Royal Maritime Museum. This was not the result of a sudden bout of naval curiosity but because in answer to prayer they were hosting an exhibition of prints by Ansel Adams. To many he is the grandfather of landscape photography and his pioneering work in the last century forms the bedrock of much that is great today. Until this week I had never seen an original print in the flesh and my knowledge was gleaned from books, calendars, posters and the internet.
Arriving after a delightful boat journey from Embankment, I wasn't sure what to expect. The collection was advertised as a selected view of those aspects of his work that were associated with water. I like water but was prepared for not seeing many of my particular favourites. I was also braced for a pretty limited selection.
Both fears proved to be spectacularly unfounded. The exhibition was HUGE and only compromised by the decision not to issue timed tickets but to allow a free for all. There was considerable jostling and it made the process more difficult than it should have been.
The prints were a joy and spanned pretty much his whole career. The ranged from the tiny (almost contact print sized) to the enormous as shown in the image at the top. As prints they were exceptional, as images there were many I liked and a few that aroused me less. Perhaps there were almost too many to take in during a single visit. I wove my way around the wall after wall of pictures enjoying the experience, revelling in the immersion but still moving nonetheless. Then quite by surprise I came across the image below.
I've never been a huge fan of Moonrise over Hernandez but this view of Yosemite is one of my favourite photographs of all time. To see it suddenly and unexpectedly stopped me in my tracks. I stood and stared, moved on, came back, stared again and again. I could feel myself falling into it. To me this is the absolute expression of Ansel Adams. The scene before our eyes is unbelievably grand, perfect. The print is a joy in itself, the tones, the gradations, the blacks, the shadow detail. All as perfect as I know how to determine. I could have stood there all day but in the end settled for buying a print to frame. I left moved, inspired and determined to raise my own game in 2013.
