Inspiring Image
This would hardly be a portion of the blog dedicated to those who have inspired me without talking about the work of Ansel Adams. His work has inspired countless souls who walk the landscape looking for that perfect shot. The story behind this shot is a great one. Ansel was driving home after a long day of shooting. He was in the process of making his national parks book, and was making many pictures a day. As the sun went down a narrow strip illuminated the small town of Hernandez, New Mexico. Adams grabbed his 8×10 camera, and went to the roof of the car which was also a shooting platform. He did not have much time to make the photo with the sun setting, and he could not find his light meter. In the age of digital you would just shoot and then chimp the LCD panel. With film you had to be right on. He knew the exposure of the moon, and he worked off of that to get his exposure. He was only able to make one frame before the light moved off of the town and the crosses. This is a great photo that shows why you need to have a camera with you at all times. If you were so inclined you could come to this exact spot everyday without a similar occurrence happening. Sometimes you have one chance to make a picture, and you have to make that chance count.
What I love about the work of Adams is the fact that much of the magic was actually done in the darkroom. There are many purists out there that say that you have to show exactly what was in front of you at the time. HDR is cheating they say. Well you only have to look at someone like Ansel Adams to see that when it comes to art all bets are off. I make only minor adjustments to my sports photos. I consider them editorial, and as such they should not have photoshop work done to them beyond cropping and minor exposure adjustments. Landscape work is another animal altogether. Adams knew that, and he spent hours and hours pouring over a print to get it just so. His attention to detail was in an age that made it hard for him to accomplish all that he wanted to do. He could work on a print for hours and have it all go to waste near the end. I think that Ansel would have loved this age that we are in today. The ease of working on an image would have allowed him to make more photos instead of processing them. I would love to see what he could have done with Photoshop and Lightroom on his side with a 30 megapixel camera. Maybe his work would have been lost in the sea of photographers that are trying to make it work today.
Right now there is an exhibition at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, IN that showcases some of the great work of Adams. It runs through August 3rd. I have already been to see it, but I may end up back at least one more time. It is just something to be in the presence of the great work that was poured over by the artist. You can find out more about the exhibit by clicking here.
Bonus Video
I have come to enjoy showing a video in which the artist explains their process. This one by Adams is a great one. You can hear a master talk about the art of photography. Enjoy!
Dave Wegiel Photography 
Thank you so much for this post. The video was so enjoyable! He is one of the greatest ever.
Looking through his images is an inspiration.