About This Image

Moon and Half Dome, 1960

Ansel Adams made this image at 4:14 the afternoon of December 28, 1960 with a Hasselblad camera and 250mm Zeiss Sonnar lens, releasing the mirror before operating the shutter to minimize vibration. It was one of his last well known photographs. Arguably, this is the definitive photograph of Half Dome and among the most famous images of Yosemite National Park . Belying its later worldwide acclaim, "Moon and Half Dome" debuted for a very personal audience: the first publication of this masterpiece was as the wedding announcement for Adams ' son, Michael, and his daughter-in-law, Jeanne in 1962. In "Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs," Adams recalls making "Moon and Half Dome:" "As soon as I saw the moon coming up by Half Dome I had visualized the image. …I have photographed Half Dome innumerable times, but it is never the same Half Dome, never the same light or the same mood. …Half Dome is a great mountain with endless variations of lighting and sky situations and seasonal characteristics; the many images I have made reflect my varied creative responses to this remarkable granite monolith." "Moon and Half Dome" appears on the cover of "Classic Images," the book based on the Museum Set Collection, a retrospective portfolio of what Adams considered his strongest work. It also appears in "Yosemite”,"Yosemite and the Range of Light (out of print), " Yosemite and the High Sierra," "Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs," "and "Our National Parks."