It was the first time I had been to a photography exhibition at the Maritime Museum having only visited there once but it proved to be a good location.
The exhibition focussed on Adams work with water - rivers, lakes, waterfalls, snow, ice and rain.
Before going to the exhibition I wasn't sure what to expect other than a series of perfectly exposed (Adams is the creator of the Zone System) black and white landscape images. I like Adams work but I must admit studying the Zone System and reading The Negative earlier this year kind of threw me a bit and gave me a bit of a mental block every time I've heard his name since. However, I wasn't going to let this put me off.
The exhibition looked at the following areas:
Beginnings
Pictorialism V Modernism - Adams saw the camera as something different to traditional photographers. He wanted to let the camera speak for itself and move away from the painted look photography believing that photographs do not have to look like paintings.
The images in this section look at some of his earliest work including some of his first images taken at the age of 13. We can see a young Adams developing an interest in representing the sea in all its glory. His images of Helmet Rock, Lands End show his interest in the contrasting elements of solid rock and the crashing waves frozen in time. Instead of opting for milky waters he set out to capture the moment and 'interpret the power of falling water, the light and airy manner of the spray particles and the glimmer of sunlit water' as can be seen in Diamond Cascade, Yosemite National Park 1920.
We can also see Adams beginning to play with the mirror lakes - reflections of the mountains and scenery in the water in front of the lens.
Sea and Surf
Here in this set of images we find his Surf Sequence where he set out to capture a wave as it hit against the shore and then moved back again. He was very concerned with the way in which water changed with time. He used the faster shutter speed to capture many of these shots showing something only the camera can show because it's action is faster that the human eye can see.
Coast
This set of photographs centres on 'extracts' from shipwrecks in San Francisco. Adams didn't believe that you can have abstract images as the photograph was a representation of what was in front of you. Instead he referred to them as extracts as the photography chooses the order to make out of the chaos in front of the lens.
I particularly liked these images as they were different from the landscapes associated with Adams and they also showed his skill at working with grids and sequences.
Rivers
These photographs mainly consisted of snaking rivers through the Yosemite National Park.
Waterfalls
Adams was a believer in the ability to express personal experience through photography. Looking to Steiglitz's Equivalents, Adams idea of equivalency meant that the photograph should correspond to to an artist's emotional state at the time it was made.
The waterfalls images contain photographs from Yosemite where he has captured the cascades at full force as in Waterwheel Falls and through the use of longer exposure Fern Spring Dusk.
Rapids
In this collection of work we are introduced to the f/64 school and from this period onwards we see Adams shooting at the smallest aperture to creature sharper images throughout the frame.
Surface and Texture
Black and white is a good medium for showing texture and surface detail and Adams images here are no different. They are extracts from water views with subjects ranging from limpets to grass.
Snow and ice
Some stunning images in this collection including Frozen Lake and Cliffs where he was satisfied to get the image as in a few days it (the snow) would be gone. Again we see the impact time has in his work.
Geysers
Again the focus is the Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park.
Interviews
As part of the exhibition, a couple of short interviews with Adams from the BBC were being played in the video area. It was interesting to see the man himself after seeing all his work. He came across as being more down to earth than perhaps we are led to believe. He spoke about his influences and how he got his exposure spot on. On being asked about bracketing he replied it was 'a sign of insecurity'.
What I learned from the visit
- The importance of printing in Adams work. He manipulated all his images darkening the skies to add mood and drama. He has been known to work for up to an entire day on one image getting the print exactly how he needed it.
- There are two ways to take a picture you can accept what the camera reading gives you and click and hope for the best or you can visualise the image before you shoot and that will determine your settings etc.
- Adams use of composition - stretched the rule of thirds and made it work. I grew up beside the sea and in many of his images I saw what is the familiar to every coastal area however his use of crop, his making sense of the chaos in front of him is what makes his shots truly amazing.
- The theme of time ran through all this work. This is something I need to think about as I continue to develop my work on Time.
- Hard work and meticulous planning pays off in the end. Adams worked every day of the week, year in, year out and never took holidays.
- The prints were very small and hard to see. I preferred those that were larger - they enables you to see the detail in his work.
- Adams was ahead of his time in relation to his work with the environment and nature at a time when everyone was preoccupied with documentary photography. It is only probably now that we can see the true value of his legacy.
As part of the display there was an area where people could look at his books and also post notes about how Ansel Adams inspired them to...
There was a school visiting at the time I was there and I think one of the comments left by one of the kids will stay with me
Ansel Adams inspired me to... Grow a beard and be a good person.
As for me it has to be work harder!!!
