More About the Image:
During his time in San Francisco in the 1930’s, Ansel would make his way around Marin and Sonoma Counties to photograph. In that era his subjects were more in line with his Group f/64 thinking – everyday objects like fences, buildings, cars, crosses – photographed from a close, very straightforward vantage. He returned frequently in the 1950’s and 1960’s, this time making several photographs that highlighted the coastal terrain and the ocean’s edge. Standing out from that collection, this image provides us with no coastline at all. We could easily be standing on any shore the world over, or deck side on a ship. Looking out, Ansel provides us with a pure vista not unlike Clearing Winter Storm from Tunnel View in Yosemite. In this image, as in that one, the clouds set the stage. The ocean is revealed in a flat, relative monotone field that gives no sense of the depth to the image. The clouds on the other hand seem multilayered and dynamic, their swirling and vaporous shapes creating a multitude of moods and planes.
