[APML] OT: Finding Ansel's Moonrise

["Chris Cook" <ccook@cape.com>]

Hi everyone,

I hope this list is still active?  Guess I'll find out... <g>

Anywho, I just got back from a week in NM and one of the things I wanted to
do was to try and locate Ansel Adams' spot where he took his famous Moonrise
photograph.  I had emailed Dennis di Cicco at S&T before the trip and he
gave me some great info in regards to finding the site.  My wife and I drove
up to Hernandez and found the site without any trouble.

Back in 1941, Adams set up his camera along Route 84 which at the time was a
two lane road, possibly even dirt?  In 1991, Dennis found the original road
but there were spots along dirt crossovers where you could stop and locate
the site.... well.... now Route 84 is a four lane highway that is totally
paved, no crossovers or center dividers etc..... just a big solid slab of
asphalt.  One could not park their car in the middle of the highway... :-')

I located the area while in the car and once I saw the church steeple and
graveyard, I knew I had the spot.  In order to get the shot, I had to stand
in the middle of the highway!  While northern NM is not downtown Boston, it
still has some traffic.  I snapped the shot in what I thought was the most
accurate spot... meanwhile I had 18 wheelers barreling down on me at 65mph!
Not the safest place to shoot... <bg>

I did not have a GPS with me so I cannot confirm the exact co-ordinates but
I know I must have been within 2-3 feet of where Adams' camera was in 1941
and where Dennis was in 1991.

Here's the shot.  I have created a mouseover with Ansel's photo as a
reference.  The mountains line up real nice and the cross on the church in
the original photograph fits nicely into the arch that now currently exists.

http://www.abmedia.com/astro/newmexico/adams-moonrise-site.html

So many other variables came into play such as lens distortions between
Adams' camera and mineand the fact that the road has been totally redone
since 1941 thus the elevation of the actual road bed has definitely changed.
I feel it is pretty much impossible to get an exact match.

My photo was shot with a Canon 20D and Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L lens.

Hope you enjoy it.  I was so psyched when I found it.  What great fun!!

Chris


-----------------------------
Chris Cook Photography
www.cookphoto.com



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