The first time I met Ansel Adams (about 1968), I didn't even know who he
was.
At the end of Ocean Avenue in Carmel, California is a beautiful beach. I had just purchased a 200mm lens for my Hasselblad 120 camera and went down there to see if anything interesting was going on.
Because there is an annual contest
there I thought I might find someone building a sand castle that I might
photograph. No sand castles were being constructed, but slightly off-shore I
spotted a wine bottle stuck in the sand, with waves gently flowing over it.
A perfect test, I thought, for this medium telephoto lens. Had my Hasselblad on a tripod and had taken a couple of shots when this older man came up to me and asked, "I was watching you and noticed that you were taking photographs of that wine bottle as the waves rolled in over it.
"Do you think possibly a better photograph might be with the bottle just there by itself with no water crashing over it?"
I asked him if he lived around Carmel and if so, and if he gave me his address, I'd do a shot or two the way he suggested, and the next time was down I'd look him up and show him the photos and see which we thought was better.
He wrote on a piece of paper: A. Adams, 1 Van Ess Way, Carmel Highlandsm and also wrote down his telephone number. So a few weeks later I was back in town, having lunch at The Tuck Box, and gave him a call.
He told me to come on down, so I did, turning at the "A. Adams" mailbox, parking and walking up to some sliding glass doors. I pushed the door-bell button and soon he came to open them. It was then I realized who A. Adams was.
Behind him was a baby grand piano and a black & white mural of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. After sitting down and chatting for a while, I finally pulled out my photographs.
With one glance he replied, "Oh. I had no idea you were shooting
At the end of Ocean Avenue in Carmel, California is a beautiful beach. I had just purchased a 200mm lens for my Hasselblad 120 camera and went down there to see if anything interesting was going on.
A perfect test, I thought, for this medium telephoto lens. Had my Hasselblad on a tripod and had taken a couple of shots when this older man came up to me and asked, "I was watching you and noticed that you were taking photographs of that wine bottle as the waves rolled in over it.
"Do you think possibly a better photograph might be with the bottle just there by itself with no water crashing over it?"
I asked him if he lived around Carmel and if so, and if he gave me his address, I'd do a shot or two the way he suggested, and the next time was down I'd look him up and show him the photos and see which we thought was better.
He wrote on a piece of paper: A. Adams, 1 Van Ess Way, Carmel Highlandsm and also wrote down his telephone number. So a few weeks later I was back in town, having lunch at The Tuck Box, and gave him a call.
He told me to come on down, so I did, turning at the "A. Adams" mailbox, parking and walking up to some sliding glass doors. I pushed the door-bell button and soon he came to open them. It was then I realized who A. Adams was.
Behind him was a baby grand piano and a black & white mural of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. After sitting down and chatting for a while, I finally pulled out my photographs.
With one glance he replied, "Oh. I had no idea you were shooting
color!" We laughed and talked a bit longer.
He took me back into his darkroom and showed me around. "Bet you're wondering what the hell this is here for?" he asked me, pointing to an open 8" X 10" camera. "This is an enlarger for my 8" X 10" negatives so that I can print murals.
"It'd be impossible to burn and dodge in the normal way when doing prints this size so look there on the back of the camera," he said. "That's a light box. My 8" X 10" negs are placed in front of the focus glass and the light box shines though them so I can print on the wall.
"If you'll look on the back of the light box, you'll see a bunch of rheostats. Each one controls a separate quartz iodine light that only shines through a certain part of the negative. That way I can lighten or darken a certain particular part of the B&W mural."
That was only my first visit to his home. Very rarely when visiting Ansel were our talks about photography. Usually we'd discuss environmental issues.
A hot one he tried to present through the Sierra Club to the National Park Service, but was rejected, was eliminating cars being driven in Yosemite National Park.
Ansel felt traffic during the months of the most visitation was becoming so heavy that emissions from car exhausts were doing environmental damage to the ecosystem. His idea was to have visitors to Yosemite park their vehicles in the city of Merced and take shuttle buses through the national park.
On one visit, Ansel asked me if I had my 120 camera with me and if I did would I do a portrait of him for a photography show he was having at the Monterey Savings and Loan.
Having Ansel Adams ask me if I felt as if I could take his portrait was as if he had asked me if I could make a planet for him.
The B&W portrait was done in his living room by window light from the large ceiling-to-floor glass windows that overlooked the Pacific.
A few weeks later when he was home from his constant lecture tours, I took a proof sheet down to to show him. We chose which one we liked the best. I went back to a darkroom rented by-the-hour in Mountain View, made prints and mailed the 8" x 10" B&Ws to him.
As I remember, he paid me $60 plus gave me a large signed book of his photographs.
You can acquire a copy of this portrait at my online store.
He took me back into his darkroom and showed me around. "Bet you're wondering what the hell this is here for?" he asked me, pointing to an open 8" X 10" camera. "This is an enlarger for my 8" X 10" negatives so that I can print murals.
"It'd be impossible to burn and dodge in the normal way when doing prints this size so look there on the back of the camera," he said. "That's a light box. My 8" X 10" negs are placed in front of the focus glass and the light box shines though them so I can print on the wall.
"If you'll look on the back of the light box, you'll see a bunch of rheostats. Each one controls a separate quartz iodine light that only shines through a certain part of the negative. That way I can lighten or darken a certain particular part of the B&W mural."
That was only my first visit to his home. Very rarely when visiting Ansel were our talks about photography. Usually we'd discuss environmental issues.
A hot one he tried to present through the Sierra Club to the National Park Service, but was rejected, was eliminating cars being driven in Yosemite National Park.
Ansel felt traffic during the months of the most visitation was becoming so heavy that emissions from car exhausts were doing environmental damage to the ecosystem. His idea was to have visitors to Yosemite park their vehicles in the city of Merced and take shuttle buses through the national park.
 |
| It was when I saw this photo of El Capitan, that I realized who "A. Adams" was. |
On one visit, Ansel asked me if I had my 120 camera with me and if I did would I do a portrait of him for a photography show he was having at the Monterey Savings and Loan.
Having Ansel Adams ask me if I felt as if I could take his portrait was as if he had asked me if I could make a planet for him.
The B&W portrait was done in his living room by window light from the large ceiling-to-floor glass windows that overlooked the Pacific.
A few weeks later when he was home from his constant lecture tours, I took a proof sheet down to to show him. We chose which one we liked the best. I went back to a darkroom rented by-the-hour in Mountain View, made prints and mailed the 8" x 10" B&Ws to him.
As I remember, he paid me $60 plus gave me a large signed book of his photographs.
You can acquire a copy of this portrait at my online store.
I understand that although the prints were well received, one has to feel that for the money they should've been framed.
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