"Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park" sells for record $722,000

From the Telegraph:

A mural-size photograph by Ansel Adams of Yosemite National Park has sold for more than $722,000 (£489,000) at auction in New York City.

Normally, this would be news on its own, but when I spied the photo the Telegraph had on display, I saw an opportunity.  Check it out.  It's kind of -- grey -- light -- great looking, but not quite right.

I was quickly convinced that the Telegraph's image might well be slightly tweaked, so I hunted down a more original image on the Sotheby's website.  Not so grey, eh?  A bit darker -- more brooding and mysterious.

Why am I pointing this out?  There's been some criticism of Interior's display of The Mural Project, most commonly the complaint that the images are too dark.  I would humbly suggest that the images on display at Interior and on DOI.gov are more accurate than the critics are ready to admit.

"Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park" sells for record $722,000

The Dam

I couldn't let the evening pass without sharing yet another gorgeous image from Adams' Mural Project collection.  It's Image 3 from the DOI.gov slideshow, Boulder Dam, Colorado River, Nevada / Arizona Border, 1942, National Archives no. 79-AAB-4 Ansel Adams.

This image is unlike many from his Mural Project work in the national parks, in that it focuses on a man-made wonder.  So much of his work is of the more natural type.  But this was part of the assignment.  Human creation is worth celebrating, and this dam is a truly immense and valuable creation.

Now, here's where it gets surprising: see the tiny specks near the top of the bridge.  Go ahead -- check them out.  I'll wait.

Still waiting...

Alright, time's up.

My colleague Ron pointed out to me how fine the new scans are.  Check out this enlargement of the top edge of the dam:

People.  We can see people -- and their cars -- on the dam.  Credit Adams' large-format camera and his fine workmanship.

Can I get a "Wow?"

The Dam

Aesthetic Approach & Rationale

As part of pre-production, I've been watching a boatload of documentaries, or at least segments of them, in search of inspiration for the aesthetic approach I would take with The Mural Project Movie.  Among them, these three stand out:

• American Experience: Ansel Adams (2002), Ric Burns.
• The film mixes color film with a significant proportion of black & white images -- something that practicality will no doubt demand I use for The Mural Project Movie. As our film is about a series of B&W photographs and their journey (creation to printing to obscurity to unveiling), it seems natural that much of the film would include shots of those images. To do otherwise would be like having a movie about sharks without using the shark in most of the movie... Ah, wait -- perhaps I should re-think this strategy. Again, practicality will no doubt demand significant use of existing images.

• Ansel Adams: Photographer (1981), John Huszar.
• The film is composed primarily of motion images in color, so I didn't find that particularly helpful. However, I did appreciate the film's use of music and natural sound, especially at the open. I think it will be helpful to remember to obtain pristine natural sound when gathering images and video of Adams' locations. I should probably also check to see if use of any of Adams' voice from this film or others would be considered "fair use."

• The National Parks: America's Best Idea (2009), Ken.Burns.
• Although I find most of the film's resources to be so far beyond my own as to be inaccessible and unhelpful, certain segments make use of black & white still photographs, sometimes integrated with more modern footage.

I have three primary categories of visual elements to consider: interviews, scenics and Adams originals.

• Adams originals are fixed. I can roam across the images with digital Ken Burns-type effects, but the color, texture, content, etc. are as they are. I won't be tweaking Adams' work.
• Scenic videography is intended to dissolve to and from Adams' work. As such, we should follow Adams' style of framing and scale, whenever possible.
• Interviews. I'm torn over interviews. It's a bit old-fashioned to do traditional sit-down interviews, but they do make life easier when you're trusting a remote shooter to get a particular interview on your behalf. If possible, I'd like to get a more naturalistic look at the interviewee interacting with the subject matter in the real world, Jeanne Moos-style.

That's it for now.  More thoughts later.

Aesthetic Approach & Rationale