Silver gelatin, mounted. Eye level view of ice on water, foreground. Tall rock formation, background. Signed, ink (recto: bottom right corner). Verso: Adams stamp, handrwitten title, center.
Description
While on an annual Sierra Club outing to Sequoia National Park, Adams took this image of the frozen Precipice Lake high in the Sierra Nevada range. The contrasting textures, sharp focus and full tonal range are indicative of Adams’ period of transition towards the f/64 Group’s photographic philosophy. In his book, “Examples,” Adams explained that some critics have called the work almost abstract, due to its strictly geometric composition, but that he disagreed. “I cannot change the optical realities, but only manage them in relation to themselves and the format,” he wrote ("Examples," p.11). Perhaps this photograph challenges the viewer to think about the shapes found in nature and the primary framing of a photograph.
Ansel Adams (1902-1984) is one of the most well-known twentieth century photographers. His contributions to the field of photography include his innovation and teaching of the Zone System. The quality of his photographs set the standard by which many straight photographs are judged.
The collection in the Photographic History Collection consists of twenty-five photographs, all printed in or about 1968. All are gelatin silver, mounted, labeled and signed in ink by the photographer. The photographs include some of his most well-known images, but also portraits and objects. The selection of images was made in collaboration between the collecting curator and Adams.
Credit Line
Reproduction rights held by the Center for Creative Photography--
print made
ca 1968
negative made
1934
ID Number
PG.69.117.05
accession number
282326
catalog number
69.117.5
Object Name
photograph
Object Type
photographs
Physical Description
paper (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 35.5 cm x 45.9 cm; 13 31/32 in x 18 1/16 in
Photograph by Ansel Adams, Ice and Cliff, Frozen Lake, Kareah Gap, Sierra Nevada, California (negative 1934, print 1968)
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.