Thought I would bump this with a quick review, as I saw both this and the O'Sullivan exhibit in Andover today. (The museums are little more than an hour apart, probably less for those who fearlessly speed on 495.)
In 1940 Ansel Adams sailed the east coast thru Georgia, the Carolinas and
Virginia with his (wealthy) friend David McAlpin. These photographs are the ones he gave McAlpin after the trip, and were (relatively) recently discovered in the estate of Mr. McAlpin, I believe.
Adams was experimenting with a Super Ikonta BX camera (square format), was recording a trip with a friend, and he might be somewhat chagrined (or amused) to find that they're displayed in a museum. While occasionally scenic (one shot of a magnificent sky over Fort Sumter), they are mostly just records of the people on the boat and an occasional scene of interest (like going through a lock).
There are several paired photographs, where you see Adams making a photograph that also is there in the exhibit. (e.g., Adams in the mast of the boat shooting a lock, then the picture Adams took down towards the lock).
If you're looking for the monumentally scenic landscape, you won't find it hear. But if you're curious how Ansel worked with the square format it's probably worth seeing....
Finally, there is a second exhibit in the Fitchburg Art Museum, photographs of the Sudbury River taken by Frank Gohlke. These are huge prints -- it's clear he used a view camera, the outlines of the sheet film are in the prints. (Occasionally you can even find a line of turqoise dots showing where an alligator clip help the film during development.) He is fond of showing things under the water, e.g, a rusting old wheelchair just under the
surface of the water. I suspect some of these were long exposures....
....
