I just saw the Ansel Adams exhibit at the MFA in Boston. Besides the awesome prints of pristine wilderness (that led to their preservation in the national park service) his stamina was amazing - hiking up to 10000 feet and more with 60 lbs of gear on his back (glass plates!). If he were alive today, I imagine he would be focussed on showing areas equally beautiful that are on the cusp of being lost due to global warming. I still dont know if he was a hiker first who then got into photography OR a photographer who took a govt job to photograph mountains and then became a hiker. There was a short 16 mm movie made by Virginia - (his wife) showing them climbing up snow covered mountains in leather shoes- they were really adventurous-no safety lines, harnesses, or anything-
Perhaps less publicized is his collection of photographs of the native Americans of the southwest. That he could even get those images with a view camera is an achievement. But it was tragic to learn that he lost a large portion of his work in a fire that consumed his studio in 1937. It is thought the fire started from a mounting press. Even his favorite 'Monolith, the Face of Half Dome, Yosemite National Park' lost half an inch from the top of the negative although he said you couldn't notice it unless you saw prints from that negative made before and after the fire.
Most of the prints were silver gelatin and I guess they were printed by him although that was not made clear. They looked like they just came out of the darkroom. Clean and pure. Equally amazing was the lack of any dust spots- can you imagine trying to get one of those big negatives dust free and then to make an enlargement without dust on the carrier?! Looking at the prints, I also could not see any evidence of the extensive dodging and burning he did in the darkroom. Borders were crisp and the tones were smoothly transitioned.
The exhibit continues until Feb 24.
