Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico

Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico is a black-and-white photograph made by Ansel Adams in 1941, depicting the moon rising over the small village of Hernandez, New Mexico, with a foreground cemetery of white crosses caught in dramatic evening light beneath a darkening sky. Adams famously had only moments to set up and expose the shot before the light changed, and the image is celebrated for its extraordinarily wide tonal range, achieved through the meticulous exposure and printing control of the zone system he developed. It became one of the most reproduced and among the most expensive American photographs ever sold at auction, exemplifying his approach to landscape photography as a form of technically exacting fine art.