01/24/2025
Amazing photo by an amazing photographer! 📷💕
In 1954, U.S. Camera magazine asked photographers to share their coldest experiences while working in the field. This was Ansel’s response:
“I was plodding around the floor of Yosemite Valley after a snowstorm, carrying my 8x10 in working position on a heavy tripod. The snow was fairly deep & it was somewhat awkward to carry & operate the instrument. Working on a fine bit of snow-laden forest I found it necessary to move the camera a foot or so from its first position for a better composition. I stood firm, lifted the tripod out of the snow...trying to keep the same angle of the legs. Suddenly, as I raised the camera above my head, the tilting-top loosened & the camera swung backwards & upwards—my head met the ground glass & passed neatly through it; the wooden frame of the camera rested on my shoulders! Thus hooded & in considerable fear of slashing from broken glass, I struggled to…disengage myself from the extraordinary predicament. The snow was soft & slippery & my tactical position unfavorable. I could feel a piece of glass slither down my back under my shirt. Efforts to raise the camera from my shoulders only resulted in further displacement & binding of the tilting-top. I was trapped! My…world rapidly became unstable & I lost all sense of balance…tumbling into the snow in a final blind & frantic effort to protect both neck & camera. Once prone, extrication of head from bellows was simply managed & a normal position soon established. The removal of snow from ears, neck, camera & lens required some chilly moments. The glass was well shattered but I found an intact corner piece of about 2 square inches. With this I was able to compose & focus the picture by moving the fragment over the picture plane, focusing at the corners where I could press the glass against the frame & scanning, piecemeal, the entire image. By the time the exposure was made I was thoroughly cold, damp & weary & it was beginning to snow again. By some miracle I avoided mutilation of ears from the shattered glass & the camera suffered a minimum of damage. I think the picture was worth the experience. I bought a new tilting-top!”