There's a reason Yosemite is one of the crown jewels of the National Park System. I am awed, overwhelmed and gobsmacked by my first views of Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, El Capitan - all those iconic images I learned from Ansel Adams' photography. But instead of black and white, the evening light is bathing everything in a glorious sunset glow. How can I be so lucky?
I'm here to take a carbon printing workshop out of the Ansel Adams Gallery in the heart of Yosemite Valley. I'm fortunate to be educated by two world-class carbon printers, Vaughn Hutchins and Jim Fitzgerald. The beauty of a carbon print is its capability for fine detail and a lustrous surface. If you look sideways, you can see the ink in relief on the page - undoubtedly one of the most beautiful photographic processes.
As part of the workshop, Vaughn and Jim took me out into the park and taught me to use one of those 8x10 old school cameras. When I put my head under the cover, I saw Yosemite Falls running uphill because the image is upside down. It gave me a new appreciation for the difficulties faced by 19th and early 20th century photographers who lugged these huge cameras around to capture now-iconic images like Ansel's "Moon Over Half Dome."
In the gallery's print room, educator Michael Wise gave us a privileged look with white gloves at prints made from Adams' original negatives, including one worth $179,000. He taught us how to recognize markers of quality in these magnificent works of art.
This workshop has been an incredible experience - getting up close with both the transcendent beauty of Yosemite's landscapes and the gorgeous, permanent prints that have immortalized them. I'll be taking what I've learned here and applying it to my own photography going forward, with a newfound respect for the masters like Ansel Adams who came before me.
