From "Surf Sequence" No. 5
date: label: negative made
content: ca 1936
label: print made
content: 1968
name: label: maker
content: Adams, Ansel
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: Silver gelatin, mounted. Aerial view of rocky shoreline with waves washing up. Wave is on top part of the photograph. Signed, ink (recto: bottom right). Verso: Adams stamp, top center. Title with "wave" crosses out and "surf" inserted, handwritten, ink. "14x13" handwritten, pencil left side edge.
label: Description
content: On a drive from his home in San Francisco to the town of Carmel in 1940, Adams made frequent stops to walk out and look at the surf hitting the coast of San Mateo County. He took note of this particular strip of beach because of the unique and changing textures presented by the surf, sand and rocks in combination. Adams realized that the scene might be best captured in a series of images, and later wrote in his book "Examples" (p.27) that he recalled the advice of photographer Minor White, “A sequence of several images can be thought of as a single statement.” Adams also wrote that the images capture a fleeting moment in the natural world, and, while parts of a set, should not necessarily be arranged chronologically (p.23). This, the fifth image in the Surf Series, therefore showcases Adams' photographic standards, and stands out on its own as an individual, and highly successful, photograph.
label: Description
content: 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.
label: Description
content: 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.
place: label: place made
content: United States: California, San Francisco
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Photographic History
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content: Photo History Collection
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content: Ansel Adams Collection
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content: Photography
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Reproduction rights held by the Center for Creative Photography--ARIZONA
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: PG.69.117.11
label: accession number
content: 282326
label: catalog number
content: 69.117.11
objectType: label: Object Name
content: photograph
label: Object Type
content: photographs
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 35.4 cm x 45.7 cm; 13 15/16 in x 18 in