Oceans, Landscape and the Lens at National Maritime Museum

Coasts and seas can powerfully reconfigure our imaginations. Fluid, ephemeral, and unpredictable, water provided Ansel Adams with a persistent source of inspiration and an opportunity for experimentation both in his art and his photographic process. For some, his unpeopled pictures stir a collective memory of what it was like to be alone in an untouched world. For others these classic ‘good taste’ images disregard the reality of how most people really experience the landscape. Photographers, historians and artists come together to discuss what the history of maritime and landscape photography can tell us about our changing relationship with the sea as an island nation.