Moonrise from Glacier Point

Story Behind the Image

Ansel Adams made this image with an 8″ x 10″ view camera sometime before 1959. The specific date is unknown, but astronomers at Texas State University in San Marcos dated a similar image, “Autumn Moon,” to 7:03 PM September 15, 1948 .

The image captures the moon rising over the Clark Range southeast of Glacier Point. When the moon is full, its light reflects off Yosemite’s bare granite walls bathing the south central high country in an ethereal glow that has made nighttime hiking popular in this area of the park.

The moon was a key element in some of Ansel Adams’ photographs, notably “Moonrise” made in 1941 at Hernandez , New Mexico . His technical expertise enabled him to make exposures that reveal the detail of the moon’s craters and seas.