Ansel Adams: Moonrise

This image is copyrighted and is for the sole use of viewing on this website

Susan Brannon
6 August 2011
Moonrise, Hernadez, New Mexico - Was one of his most famous.  The ititial publication of Moonrise was in U.S. Camera 1943 annual.  For nearly 40 years, Adams re-interpreted the image using the latest darkroom equipment at his disposal, making over 1,300 unique prints, mostly in 16" x 20" format.  Many of the prints were made in the 1970's giving him more freedom from the commercial projects that seemed to blog him down.  He took this shot after the sun had gone down and the light on the crosses were rapidly fading and he could not find his exposure meter. He remembered the luminance of the moon, and used it to calculate the proper exposure.  The exposure was underexposed, and the highlights in the clouds were quite dense.  He found the negative difficult to print.  The total value of this print exceeds 25,000.00 with the highest price for a singe print reached $609,600 at an auction in NY in 2006.  He made this image on November 1, 1941.

Some of Adams images are owned by the U.S. Government because he worked for  the Department of the Interior.  However, it was his day off when he took Moonrise, so he had full ownership of the negative.