Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico
Encyclopedia
Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico is a photograph by Ansel Adams
, taken late in the afternoon on November 1, 1941, from a shoulder of U.S. Route 84
.
The photograph became so popular and collectible that Adams personally made over 1,300 photographic prints of it during his long career.
On October 17, 2006, Sotheby’s auctioned a print of this photograph for $609,600. Art historian H. W. Janson
called this photo "a perfect marriage of straight and pure photography".
In 1941, Secretary of the Interior
Harold Ickes
hired Adams for six months to create photographs of lands under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior. Adams was accompanied by his young son Michael and his best friend Cedric Wright
on a long road trip around the west. They came upon the scene while traveling through the Chama River valley toward Española
in late afternoon on November 1; accounts of what transpired differ considerably.
The image appeared in U.S. Camera Annual 1943, and Adams gave this account:
Later accounts were considerably more dramatic. According to Mary Alinder, they encountered a "fantastic scene", a church and cemetery near Hernandez, New Mexico
, and pulled to the side of the road. Adams recalled that he yelled at his son Michael and at Wright to "Get this! Get that, for God's sake! We don't have much time!" Desperate to capture the image in the fading light, they scrambled to set up the tripod and camera, knowing that only moments remained before the light was gone.
Adams gave a similar account in Examples
Adams was notorious for neglecting to record exact dates for his images. Moonrise had been variously listed as having been made in 1940, 1941, 1942, and 1944;
attempts were made to determine the date using astronomical calculations based on the Moon's position in the image. David Elmore of the High Altitude Observatory
in Boulder, Colorado
, concluded that Moonrise was taken on October 31, 1941, at 4:03 p.m.
Adams used this date in several publications, including Examples, though the time was given as 4:05 p.m. rather than 4:03 p.m. Dennis di Cicco
of Sky & Telescope
magazine noticed that the Moon's position at the time Elmore had determined did not match the Moon's position in the image, and after an independent analysis, determined the time to be 4:49:20 p.m. on November 1, 1941. He reviewed his results with Elmore, who agreed with di Cicco's conclusions.
Ansel Adams
Ansel Easton Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the American West, especially in Yosemite National Park....
, taken late in the afternoon on November 1, 1941, from a shoulder of U.S. Route 84
U.S. Route 84
U.S. Route 84 is an east–west United States highway. It started as a short Georgia-Alabama route in the original 1926 scheme, but now extends all the way to Colorado. The highway's eastern terminus is a short distance east of Midway, Georgia, at an intersection with I-95. The road continues...
.
The photograph became so popular and collectible that Adams personally made over 1,300 photographic prints of it during his long career.
On October 17, 2006, Sotheby’s auctioned a print of this photograph for $609,600. Art historian H. W. Janson
H. W. Janson
Horst Waldemar Janson , who published as H. W. Janson, was an American scholar of art history best known for his History of Art, which was first published in 1962 and has sold more than two million copies in fifteen languages.Janson was born in St. Petersburg in 1913 to Friedrich Janson and Helene...
called this photo "a perfect marriage of straight and pure photography".
The making of Moonrise
The making of Moonrise has attracted unusually strong interest.In 1941, Secretary of the Interior
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
Harold Ickes
Harold L. Ickes
Harold LeClair Ickes was a United States administrator and politician. He served as United States Secretary of the Interior for 13 years, from 1933 to 1946, the longest tenure of anyone to hold the office, and the second longest serving Cabinet member in U.S. history next to James Wilson. Ickes...
hired Adams for six months to create photographs of lands under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior. Adams was accompanied by his young son Michael and his best friend Cedric Wright
Cedric Wright
George Cedric Wright was an American violinist and wilderness photographer of the High Sierra. He was Ansel Adams's mentor and best friend for decades.-Family:...
on a long road trip around the west. They came upon the scene while traveling through the Chama River valley toward Española
Española, New Mexico
Española also known as Espanola , is a city primarily in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, in the United States. A portion of the central and eastern section of the city is in Santa Fe County. Española was founded in 1880 as a railroad village, incorporated as a city in 1925. The city is situated in...
in late afternoon on November 1; accounts of what transpired differ considerably.
The image appeared in U.S. Camera Annual 1943, and Adams gave this account:
- It was made after sundown, there was a twilight glow on the distant peaks and clouds. The average light values of the foreground were placed on the "U" of the Weston Master meter; apparently the values of the moon and distant peaks did not lie higher than the "A" of the meter. Some may consider this photograph a "tour de force" but I think of it as a rather normal photograph of a typical New Mexican landscape. Twilight photography is unfortunately neglected; what may be drab and uninteresting by daylight may assume a magnificent quality in the halflight between sunset and dark.
Later accounts were considerably more dramatic. According to Mary Alinder, they encountered a "fantastic scene", a church and cemetery near Hernandez, New Mexico
Hernandez, New Mexico
Hernandez is an unincorporated community in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States. Hernandez is about northwest of Espanola on U.S. Routes 84/285....
, and pulled to the side of the road. Adams recalled that he yelled at his son Michael and at Wright to "Get this! Get that, for God's sake! We don't have much time!" Desperate to capture the image in the fading light, they scrambled to set up the tripod and camera, knowing that only moments remained before the light was gone.
Adams gave a similar account in Examples
- I could not find my Weston exposure meter! The situation was desperate: the low sun was trailing the edge of clouds in the west, and shadow would soon dim the white crosses. I suddenly realized that I knew the luminance of the moon250 cd/ft2. Using the Exposure Formula, I placed this value on Zone VIIZone systemThe Zone System is a photographic technique for determining optimal film exposure and development, formulated by Ansel Adams and Fred Archer. Adams described how the Zone System was developed: "I take this opportunity to restate that the Zone System is not an invention of mine; it is a codification...
. Realizing as I released the shutter that I had an unusual photograph which deserved a duplicate negative, I quickly reversed the film holder, but as I pulled the darkslide, the sunlight passed from the white crosses; I was a few seconds too late! The lone negative suddenly became precious.
Adams was notorious for neglecting to record exact dates for his images. Moonrise had been variously listed as having been made in 1940, 1941, 1942, and 1944;
attempts were made to determine the date using astronomical calculations based on the Moon's position in the image. David Elmore of the High Altitude Observatory
High Altitude Observatory
The High Altitude Observatory conducts research and provides support and facilities for the solar-terrestrial research community in the areas of solar and heliospheric physics, and the effects of solar variability on the Earth's magnetosphere, ionosphere, and upper atmosphere.HAO is a laboratory...
in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
, concluded that Moonrise was taken on October 31, 1941, at 4:03 p.m.
Adams used this date in several publications, including Examples, though the time was given as 4:05 p.m. rather than 4:03 p.m. Dennis di Cicco
Dennis di Cicco
Dennis di Cicco is an American amateur astronomer who lives in New England. He has discovered numerous asteroids from his backyard observatory in Sudbury, Massachusetts . He is also the senior editor of Sky and Telescope magazine, where he has been a member of the editorial staff since 1974...
of Sky & Telescope
Sky & Telescope
Sky & Telescope is a monthly American magazine covering all aspects of amateur astronomy, including the following:*current events in astronomy and space exploration;*events in the amateur astronomy community;...
magazine noticed that the Moon's position at the time Elmore had determined did not match the Moon's position in the image, and after an independent analysis, determined the time to be 4:49:20 p.m. on November 1, 1941. He reviewed his results with Elmore, who agreed with di Cicco's conclusions.