Exclusive Look Into Ansel Adams' Home and Darkroom

For more info: www.silberstudios.tv This is the extended version of my visit to Ansel Adams' home and darkroom. You'll hear his son Michael talk about some of Ansel's most iconic images, including the breakthrough he had when he first visualized the image of Half Dome. This led to the development of his unique and masterful style. You'll also see much more of his darkroom and hear about how Ansel worked and see the darkroom he custom built, like none on earth. Join us now for this rare, behind the scenes look. A special thanks to Rocky Barbanica who originally Produced this (when we were putting the show together for FastCompany.
FACEBOOK: / marcsilbershow
GOOGLE +: bit.ly/Y95TGT
TWITTER: / marcsilbershow
RSS SUBSCRIBE: bit.ly/Z39VVl

[@mrchdant]

I worked with Ansel in the late 70s-early 80s and enjoyed this--I spent time in his Carmel home and darkroom and miss my time there. A great photographer and man.

[@marcsilber]

Fantastic what an opportunity you had!

[@alejandrarosales7836]

I'm so jealous right now...

[@MiguelAngelBriones]

that should have been a great moment in your life, what a privilege! thank you for sharing.

[@marcp.1752]

Awesome, you've been gifted with his presence and advice.

[@harbselectronicslab3551]

Working with the Zone system changed photography for me as a kid.....I still have the Darkroom gear I amassed in a shipping container.......full to the roof 35mm right up to large format camera's and even my large vacuum easels .......I yearn to get it going again after watching this....Ansel was an inspiration.

[@marcsilber]

Glad to inspire you again! Now is the time to follow your passion!

[@saulosilva2316]

Thank you for sharing this jewel!

[@cynthiamadrid1430]

Thank you Michael, a beautiful Interview.... Cindi

[@BrianAndersonPhotography]

This is an incredible video. Thanks so much for going through the trouble to create it :)

[@marcsilber]

glad to hear!

[@klumka]

Fascinating. He was amazing.

[@suitking]

Amazing video! Thanks so much for sharing this!

[@Stone1108]

Ansel had such an amazing work ethic not to mention talent, skill and knowledge. I found it fascinating watching this, my respect and admiration for Ansel and other masters of his era just keeps on growing, such dedication not only to getting the shot but to the whole process of producing the image. Thanks for bringing this to us.

[@marcsilber]

🙏

[@mohammedalmazyad1619]

What a great photographer with all the limitations in the equipment and post processing they are able to produce such great photos. amazing !! thanks for the video and thanks for you channel

[@marcsilber]

Thanks for watching!

[@fromthepeanutgallery1084]

Had the opportunity to meet Ansel back in 1982 when I was a student. He was having his retrospective at the Weston Gallery in Carmel and I drove up with a friend to go see the exhibition. I am so glad to have had the opportunity to meet Ansel, see his work first hand, and have a few words with him (even got a book signed) I made a series of images of Ansel meeting and greeting people throughout the gallery (about 20 images color and black and white) shot on my old Leica IIIb. Still have the images, but not he camera. Both Ansel and Weston had great influence on my practice. An experience I will always treasure.

[@marcsilber]

Great story! Love of see those photos!

[@Nat.ImagesLarge.F.Photographer]

Fantastic,master!

[@marcsilber]

@suitking glad you liked it, it was amazing to be at AAs house

[@marcsilber]

@klumka thanks it was wonderful to visit there

[@janetgablecull2099]

Thanks so much for this.

[@marcsilber]

you're welcome!

[@ashvarma2486]

Great video. Many thanks for sharing

[@marcsilber]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@melody3741]

Michael!!! I so so so much appreciate it

[@marcsilber]

🙏🙏

[@germanandreu1472]

VERY INTERESTING THE OLD TRICKS

[@marcsilber]

thank you and it was my honor to film my mentor

[@canturgan]

His most famous picture was a snap taken from his car. The difference between Adams and most people was that he knew how to convert that moment into highly successful commercial art. Amazing darkroom skills, he was a maestro.

[@marcsilber]

@newyorkhypnosis my pleasure to be able to bring Ansle to you. He was my hero too and I have those exact same memories. Thanks for watching.

[@70mjc]

Advancing Your Photography Ansel***

[@leicaman]

Ansel's photos changed me, and I've been a pro since 1985, in large part because of Yosemite and the Range of Light. (Autographed!)

[@puma0065]

Just great to see Amazing Thanks for adding :)))))

[@SodaAnt7]

Photography books come and go from my bookshelf, but three are permanent residents: The Camera, The Negative, and The Print, by Ansel Adams.

[@JohnFisk-OHS-78]

Yup... I just bought my first 4x5 (an old Linhof Karden with a Wista field camera for the landscapes) film cameras this past month and recalled that I bought these books secondhand years ago. I skimmed over them at that time, but didn't have a lot of use for the information them. I pulled them from the box in the basement last night and started reading. Such a talented guy - and seriously intelligent. Cheers! J

[@marcp.1752]

I loved these Ansel Adams series ! Watched them back into the day, and could see it all couple months again...thanks much for sharing it with us, Marc ! I can't believe it - was that really *that* long time ago? Damn, how fast time flies...

[@marcsilber]

Glad you’re still digging them!

[@marcp.1752]

@@marcsilber "You don't take a photograph, you make it !" ~ Ansel Adams. That says it all, he was a master of his Darkroom. I do think, those numbers and oval circles simply are the stops, and location into a particular picture, Ansel wanted to darken the specific parts within a frame, a picture, he had created. I have to try the Zone system (more)...

[@marcsilber]

👍👍

[@marcp.1752]

@@marcsilber I wished Ansel was still alive, and could ask him so many things. Love his books, since my teenage days.

[@goodtimes616]

I just started using film and put away my digital like many seem to be doing these days as well...this is an inspiring video, what craftmanship!

[@petersalmon7401]

Thanks, not sure when I’ll show it. It will be on a club evening when there’s no guest speaker or a competition being judged. Our club is in Bromley, Kent UK.

[@marcsilber]

Cheers, let me know how it goes.

[@johnbleeker6258]

Great, great video. I always considered Ansel Adams as ... i don't know, god of photography, I would say. We all know his particular style; it's very special. I envy his career, home business, making a living with practicing his hobby, as it seems. (I know its never that simple but you get what I mean, I guess) Thanks, guys, for giving us a look in to his home, and especially his dark room. I'm not sure I'd have it in me to build a horizontal enlarger set up like he did but it looks great. I realize I should do youtube searches more often considering this has been here for 6+ years and I never came across it... Thanks again! John

[@marcsilber]

glad you find us John. Yes he was the master of the technology of photography. hope to see more of you!

[@erick-gd7wo]

Back at 2012, I had a quick look into all 3 Mr. Adams book and dig deep into his 2nd book. There I retry black and white photography with my cellphone (Nokia N95 8GB). Though I still shoot with smartphone, I use Mr. Adams gray zone system.

[@joshgunsuleymanov4794]

Thank you so.much

[@marcsilber]

🙏

[@marcsilber]

Check out our video from Ansel Adam's home and darkroom. buff.ly/1fLg7ab

[@petersalmon7401]

Thanks for a very interesting video. May I have your permission to show this video to members of my camera Club?

[@marcsilber]

Yes of course. Let me know what they say and any questions they may have. Where is your club?

[@bmfilmnut]

Just a fine point: In 1975, Ansel was 73, not 77. He was born in 1902. To this day, I use the Zone System that I learned many years ago from Ansel's wonderful books and, other than the horizontal 8x10" camera, I use equipment of the type Ansel used in the field and in the darkroom. He was a true inspiration to generations of photographers.

[@ronscholefield1894]

I viewed the location where Ansel shot Moonrise Hernandez, on Google Street View, and there's no clue that the location was worth photographing; which reveals Ansel's pre-visualization and darkroom skills.

[@leicaman]

@ZDP189HK Yes, but only his test prints. Final prints were not microwaved.

[@ronpaula8499]

I was lucky enough to attend Ansel's last workshop and spend some time in that darkroom.

[@marcsilber]

Wonderful! Lucky man.

[@neilpiper9889]

Horizontal cameras and enlargers on tracks were commonplace in reproduction studios up until the 1970s in the UK. I was shown around one in 1978 when the place was closed down. Smiths and Dowty industries had their work done there. Most of the equipment was sold for scrap metal. I think the owner kept the huge reprographic lenses.

[@marcsilber]

Such a pity!

[@hallvardsmestad5762]

This is the holy grale. My lord...

[@70mjc]

Hallvard Smestad grail****

[@evelasq1]

In New York City, I might be using Ansel Adams' method while taking photographs with my black and white photo project without realizing it. It just comes from years of practice and learning on my own. I have been shooting 35mm films for 15+ years and I do shoot digital as well. I do recommend everyone to check out my time laps video on the Solar Eclipse and Times Square. This was done through hours of taking photographs digitally with a time lapse programmed by me. Peace, Flood!

[@chickenitsa]

It wasn't John Sexton who "had something to do with" the construction (Michael says 'the cooling') of Ansel's horizontal enlarger. From what i've heard, the enlarger was built (in the 60s, when Sexton was just a boy) by Adolf Gasser, himself, in his San Francisco workshop. The enlarger is a converted 11x14 view camera with a bank of reflector-flood lights (for focussing)... thus, the need for a good ventilation system in order to keep the negative from COOKING!

[@mefourb]

PS: Michael says the moon (in Hernandez) Ansel judged at "250 footcndles". I believe it should be "250 candles-per-square foot".

[@kylemichaels3373]

@@mefourb No footcandles is a lighting meaurement though not a very common one today.

[@alzathoth]

i'm stunned that the videos of home processing is that he didn't use tongs on the prints. he used his bare hands, right into the chems. wow.

[@marcsilber]

Yep surprisingly so

[@WMedl]

Unfortunately the development and printing process of the iconic moon image was shortened!

[@marcsilber]

what did you want to see?

[@ghosttownsentinel5288]

Wish I could hear from Michael Adams if he thinks his dad would have embraced new technology if he were to be here today. Ansel had gone through serious rigors to achieve the look he wanted in his prints. Would he have done so with computers if he had them at his disposal. Michael could perhaps answer that question.

[@marcsilber]

Yes I asked him that and Ansel always was up to date with new tech so would have embraced digital but also kept his roots with classic photography.

[@1967davidsrebrnik]

When I studied photography we were told that AA technique was is the light measuring, film exposing and processing, nothing was said about the printing and dodging. Few years ago I read an article about Magnum photo of James Dean walking in the New York morning showing all the lab processing work. After that I started photoshopping my photos.

[@marcsilber]

Yes Ansel was a master of printing. But he knew how to expose in order to get what he wanted in his final performance.

[@1967davidsrebrnik]

@@marcsilber we learned that he was just printing his negatives that were masterminded and that his pictures were grayish since he was able to show details in the highlights and darklighs. I had never seen one of his pictures with dark like the moonlight one.

[@WMedl]

For Dodging and burning you do not need pbotoshop! Lightroom or Capture One or other RAW converters are enough!

[@marcsilber]

True in the dark room where it originated

[@MiguelAngelBriones]

beautiful interview, thank you for sharing. I have a collection which I would love to share with you. Please let me know where should I email you to? Thank you for your time and fine attention. Best wishes, Miguel A. Briones

[@marcsilber]

You can post in our Facebook. Aypclub. Love to see your work.

[@MiguelAngelBriones]

@@marcsilber sure, I will do that. Have a great day!

[@ignatiusjk]

I would love to go to this house and see Ansel.s darkroom.Anybody know if you can visit this house or do you need special permission.

[@marcsilber]

+Tom Smith sorry Tom it's not open to public, that's why we've covered it so thoroughly. Stay tuned.

[@mrchdant]

It's a private home owned by Michael Adams. So, no.

[@stevethornton9217]

AA was the master of Photoshop befor it was invented ! Lost for words!

[@marcsilber]

+Steve Thornton You're right Steve, amazing to see it, we'll be bringing more from him soon.

[@adelgado75]

today I was developing a roll of film (I am in a photography class) and I added undiluted Fixer chemical into the canister. The film was blank.

[@marcsilber]

adelgado75 Well you learned. Great that you're in the darkroom, that's awesome.

[@ryantanakaphoto]

It’s great seeing a real (analog) dodge tool and know that’s where Photoshop gets the icon for that.

[@marcsilber]

yes it is-- Adobe came to his darkroom in fact.

[@adventureswithfrodo2721]

I think he got numbers mixed up. It must have been 1977 and he was 75. He was born in 1902, or some one is wrong.

[@terryallen9546]

Nice video. On the darkroom process/copy camera however... Ansel did not invent it. It was in use in the late 1800's. I used one on rails for years, as many old timers in the newspaper and commercial printing businesses did. Some had hand cranks, newer ones were motorized screw drives. I'm sure many here have the same experience I have.

[@marcsilber]

Thanks Terry, quite a heritage.

[@davidcochran5071]

Seeing these images in person I’m struck about how three dimensional they look

[@marcsilber]

True he had that ability to create that effect.

[@kerder8660]

Ansel Adams... Fully respect his knowledge not big fun of his photography style

[@johannesweber1347]

can we go back in time? no! xD

[@70mjc]

Johannes Weber thanks for pointing out the obvious....

[@marcsilber]

We’re still getting the bugs worked out on our time machine but stay tuned.

[@wdb1932]

No secrets here. Pretty much same stuff most of us did in darkroom for analog printing.

[@marcsilber]

ah but isn't it amazing what he was able to create with those same tools we had?

[@canturgan]

Nowadays he would have dumped the lot and used a Macbook. He did use an early electronic (digital) camera.

[@kylemichaels3373]

The first prototype digital camera did not come about until after Ansel passed. Also if he were still alive today he would probably still be using large format film just as many do today.

[@canturgan]

@@kylemichaels3373 He was involved in the development of the electronic camera by Kodak. He mentions it here kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJWmomBngq-gftk at 16:42

[@vladnickul]

Good subject worst kind of anything else.

[@marcsilber]

🤔 not sure what you mean worst kind...

[@jakobmorningstar]

Anyone else feel uncomfortable how the son refers to his parents by their names and not “my father/my mother”? Like they were his employer

[@jimmcdowell6000]

His son isn't very versed in photographic terms.

[@marcsilber]

+jim mcdowell he's a flight Surgeon not a photographer

[@jimmcdowell6000]

They should hire someone who can explain the processes..

[@marcsilber]

Jim, Michael is his son, and no one represents Ansel like he does. Were you able to come away with something useful as a photographer from the video?

[@jimmcdowell6000]

I've been a photographer since age 15, that's 57 years now. I've studied Mr. Adam's photography for quite some time. I have all of his books and I have had numerous appointment to look at his work at the University of Arizona. Mr. Adams was the chief inspirations for me starting large format (8X10) work. I guess the video would have been more informative for someone who has not studied Mr. Adam's work and life like I have. The video was interesting none the less.

[@AlexSosaBolivia]

Actually he does quite well; realize that 99% of his audience isn't as well versed on the M&P of photography as we are.

[@nickfanzo]

Ansel was great but I’ll take Henry Callahan, Brett Weston, and Aaron Siskind over him any day.

[@marcsilber]

thanks

[@DarkAngelEU]

Seems kinda weird to talk about your father in the third person all the time. Also with this guy just grinning and staring at you all the time, kinda creepy.

[@marcsilber]

you're free to skip it then, why did you watch it?

[@DarkAngelEU]

@@marcsilber Becuse Ansel dams is a great photographer and this video is about Ansel Adams.

[@70mjc]

Google made me do it so watch it and stfu