Front view
Inv. No.S-0224
ArtistAnsel Adamsborn 1902 in San Francisco, Calif., USAdied 1984 in Monterey, Calif., USA
Title

"El Capitan, Winter"


Yosemite National Park, California

from the series: Photographs of Yosemite, Special Edition
Yearbefore 1950 / 1970s (Alan Ross)
Medium

gelatin silver print mounted on cardboard

Dimensions23 x 18 cm
Signature

portfoliostamp, titled and signed by Allan Ross on verso

Comment

Ansel Adams made this image before 1950 with an 8x10" view camera; the precise date is unknown. The looming darkness of the granite face contrasts dramatically with the brightness of the snow-clad trees on either side of the Merced River. Other photographs of this image have a reversed tonality, dark trees and shadows framing the brighter rock. On winter days, as the sun warms the frozen face of El Capitan, rocks often shower down from above as the ice holding them in place melts. After the thousand-foot fall explodes the rocks on impact filling the valley with booming echoes. During his career, he took many images of El Capitan's dramatic face, notably one of his first known photographs taken in 1916 on his first trip to Yosemite. Using a Kodak #1 Box Brownie, he offered an early hint at the visualization that would later become his hallmark, framing the pale granite face with leafy trees in the foreground to downplay the overwhelming size of El Capitan. After that early photograph, Ansel Adams returned to El Capitan over and again photographing it in every time, season, and light he could. This particular image of El Capitan has not been published.
(Ansel Adams Gallery)

S-0224, "El Capitan, Winter"
Ansel Adams, "El Capitan, Winter", before 1950
S-0224, Front view
© The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
S-0224, Back view
Ansel Adams, "El Capitan, Winter", before 1950
S-0224, Back view
S-0031, Ansel Adams, "Lake Tenaya", c. 1946
Ansel Adams, "Lake Tenaya", c. 1946
more infoS-0031, Front view
© The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
S-0032, Ansel Adams, "Jeffrey Pine, Sentinel Dome, Yosemite National Park, California", 1940
Ansel Adams, "Jeffrey Pine, Sentinel Dome, Yosemite National Park, California", 1940
more infoS-0032, Front view
© The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
S-0033, Ansel Adams, "Dogwood Blossoms, Yosemite National Park, California", 1938
Ansel Adams, "Dogwood Blossoms, Yosemite National Park, California", 1938
more infoS-0033, Front view
© The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
S-0034, Ansel Adams, "Oak Tree, Snowstorm"
Yosemite National Park, California, 1948
Ansel Adams, "Oak Tree, Snowstorm" Yosemite National Park, California, 1948
more infoS-0034, Front view
© The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
S-0195, Ansel Adams, "Winter Forest Detail", 1949
Ansel Adams, "Winter Forest Detail", 1949
more infoS-0195, Front view
© The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
S-0213, Ansel Adams, "Half Dome, Merced River, Winter", 1938
Ansel Adams, "Half Dome, Merced River, Winter", 1938
more infoS-0213, Front view
© The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
S-0225, Ansel Adams, "Oak Tree, Snowstorm"
Yosemite National Park, California, 1948
Ansel Adams, "Oak Tree, Snowstorm" Yosemite National Park, California, 1948
more infoS-0225, Front view
© The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
S-0762, Ansel Adams, "Moonrise from Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park, California", 1959
Ansel Adams, "Moonrise from Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park, California", 1959
more infoS-0762, Front view
© The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
S-1993, Ansel Adams, "Yosemite Valley from Inspiration Point, Winter", around 1959
Ansel Adams, "Yosemite Valley from Inspiration Point, Winter", around 1959
more infoS-1993, Front view
© The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
S-2623, Ansel Adams, "Monolith, The Face of Half Dome", 1927
Ansel Adams, "Monolith, The Face of Half Dome", 1927
more infoS-2623, Front view
© The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
S-2625, Ansel Adams, "Moon and Half Dome", 1960
Ansel Adams, "Moon and Half Dome", 1960
more infoS-2625, Front view
© The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
S-2790, Ansel Adams, "Dogwood Blossoms, Yosemite National Park, California", 1938
Ansel Adams, "Dogwood Blossoms, Yosemite National Park, California", 1938
more infoS-2790, Front view
© The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust