jdmarks64

Fascinating discussion! The links to his son Michael (and Ansel himself) talking about the shot were extraordinary. It was definitely a different era in the spectrum of photography, yet much of what he talked about is still meaningful today. The man was a genius.

philo Loc: philo, ca

He did what we try to do in PS. that is to take a image and try and make it our own.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Actually, you would pretty much need to be there at the exact day of the year and with the moon in the correct phase/placement ......no easy task ! Adams used a rather wide lens - probably equal to the diagonal of the film ( 12 inch ? ) but did a significant crop ( which is OK on 8X10).

Since there was NO GPS in Adams day - how do we know of his exact placement - other than the recollections of his son or Adams himself - which may or may not be valid??

Hal81 Loc: Bucks County, Pa.

Adams used an 8X10 view camera. You could do a lot with an 8X10 negative back then. Dose anybody remember the Adams retouch board?? Im not sure if it was named after him or not. I worked for a studio That the owners wife was an expert at retouching negs.

ricardo7 Loc: Washington, DC - Santiago, Chile

I guess there must be something in his picture that can still be identified. Additionally, someone clever enough could probably place the location
from the back round mountains with some sophisticated surveying equipment.

PhotoArtsLA Loc: Boynton Beach

Also, you'll have to ditch the DSLR and get at least a medium format if not large format film camera and deal with the processing. Some of the prints sold for big bucks by Adams of Moonrise, Hernandez are yellowing a bit. Insufficient washing. Always remember to wash that print thoroughly. Also, Adams and his crew did physical retouching on the prints themselves. Digital is so much nicer than spending hours with a palette and a 000 Brush.

philo Loc: philo, ca

did he retouch the neg or did he just dodged and burn the print?

PhotoArtsLA Loc: Boynton Beach

While it was possible to retouch a negative, I believe Adams was a bit more of purist, and retouched mainly the prints themselves. Except for the crudest of negative retouching - rendering printed areas white - which is fairly easy - retouching of negatives at the grey scale level is arduous, and machines were even made to assist in this task. Negative retouching had to be done at the level of GRAIN, which, in an 8x10 negative, is very, very, very fine. Retouching a print is far easier. I once changed the part in a woman's hair on a print with a 000 Brush and a photo paint palette I had developed on plexiglass. It easily took a day. Today, I can do a better job in minutes in Photoshop.

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

If you look at the comments attached to the article, the photographer said it's best not to linger in the area, strangers are not welcome. Sounds like a meth factory compound. Here's a comment by another person visiting the site in 2014.

"I visited this place in 2014 wanting to get some pics. I parked on the highway and walked around the shoulder looking for the angle. A couple of troglidytes came out to greet me. The "ring leader" had multiple missing teeth while his accomplice wielded a shovel and they proceeded to intimidate me while trying to tell me in their kindergarten level communication skills that I had no business being there. And that I was due for a whoopin or something like that. I was on the highway and did not step onto private property. He then told me that he is in fact Ansel Adams. And that he is the famous photographer. Be careful if visiting. This is 4th world country territory folks."

Nalu Loc: Southern Arizona

I had heard that before and if I recall when I visited there were signs posted "no photography". Despite the fact that the road leading down toward the church is named Moonlight Lane. I assume after the photograph.