[LargeFormat] Ansel Adams in New York

[Charles Thorsten]

Dan,

This is a VERY interesting review of the Ansel Adams
at 100 exhibit by David Brower's son.  Thanks for posting
the link to this article.  I saw the exhibit earlier this 
year in LA.  As much as I loved seeing Ansel's original 
prints, there was something just not right about the show, 
and Kenneth Brower really hit the nail on the head.

It's not a show Ansel would have put together if he were
still alive.  There were so many small, early proof prints
(artisticly referred to as "vintage contact prints") that 
really don't belong there.  Let's face it...the power of
his work comes from the size, detail and dramatic mood of
he captured.  

There were three prints at the show that knocked me off
my feet.  I kept returning to them over and over again.
One was a mid-60's 20x24 print of Moonrise that still 
had some texture in the sky (before he printed it all black).  
Wonderful tones, magnificent detail...you could look INTO
the photograph for hours and still find new things to look 
at.  It glows.

The next is a 16x20 of Mt. McKinley and Wonder Lake printed
in 1978, that Brower mentions in his article.  It is shown
next to a small 8x10 printed (proofed?) in 1949 the year 
after he made the image.  The 8x10 print seemed ordinary.
The 16x20 is breathtaking!  Seeing the two shows you what a
master darkroom worker can do for an image.

The most amazing print in the show is a huge 24x30 print of
Yosemite Valley after a storm (not Clearing Winter Storm, 
a different one).  It was taken with his 8x10 camera and
printed masterfully.  I couldn't believe the impact and 
perfection of the photograph.  Detail and texture everywhere.
I felt inferior with my small 4x5 camera!  Seeing this print
for yourself makes you realize the possibilities of 
photography and why Ansel Adams was a master.  Forget the
calendars and publicity, the critics and naysayers, just go 
look at this print.  It's beautiful and it says everything.

My 2 cents,
Charlie