Moon and Half Dome, Yosemite National Park
Original Photograph Negative: 1960
Artist: Ansel Adams
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More About the Image:
Ansel Adams made this image at 4:14 the afternoon of December 28, 1960 with a Hasselblad camera and 250mm Zeiss Sonnar lens, releasing the mirror before operating the shutter to minimize vibration. It was one of his last well known photographs. Arguably, this is the definitive photograph of Half Dome and among the most famous images of Yosemite National Park.
Half Dome, the granite crest whose grand scope and sheer face, is one of Yosemite National Park’s defining features, was a frequent source of inspiration for Ansel Adams.
Ansel Adams’ rare ability to transform geographic reality into transcendent emotional experience for the viewer established him as one of the foremost American photographers—and conservationist—of his time. Ansel Adams photographs served witness to the powerful beauty of America’s Wilderness, influencing the protection of vast swaths of land in the West.
