Transforming Exposure to Ansel Adams

In his younger days, John Sexton’s world was that of engines and grease, speed and danger. While attending high school, Sexton usually spent his spare time working on the pit crew of a professional drag racer.

The idea of making a living by recording that world through a photographic lens hadn’t occurred to him. And few would have guessed that Sexton would one day evolve into one of the best-known art photographers in America.

But Sexton was hooked after stepping into a darkroom for the first time alongside one of his high school chums, who would develop and print black-and-white pictures Sexton shot of drag racers to sell the week after each race.

“A friend of mine got an enlarger as a Christmas present,” said Sexton, 35, recalling his high school days in La Mirada. “He showed it to me Christmas night. We were using red Christmas tree bulbs as safelights and as soon as I saw the pictures develop there was no turning back.”

Sexton soon bought an enlarger for $60 and learned to make prints in his parents’ attic. After graduating from high school he went to Cypress College and majored in photography. He also later attended Cal State Fullerton and Chapman College, where he received a bachelor’s degree in art.

However, it was at Cypress College where he was exposed to the work of Ansel Adams while doing a class project. Little did he realize how profound that influence would be and how Adams would soon change his life. There was an Ansel Adams exhibit at the Pasadena Museum of Modern Art (now the Norton Simon Museum).

“I had never seen photographs like that,” Sexton said. “I thought his prints achieved technical perfection. I went back three times. I would just drive there to sit and study the photographs.”

A month later, Sexton attended a lecture by Adams at El Camino College and in 1973 attended one of Adams’ workshops in Yosemite. The following year he was invited back, but this time as Adams’ assistant.

Meanwhile, Sexton’s life had taken other turns. He got married and bought a house in Buena Park and was just settling into the comfortable Orange County life style when his phone rang.

“I remember it distinctly,” Sexton said. “It was March 10, 1979, at 8 in the morning. It was Ansel Adams on the line asking me if I wanted to come to work for him. I flew up the following weekend, we met all day and talked about what the job would involve. At the time Ansel was embarking on the largest printing project of his career, known as the museum sets.”

The project of printing 100 sets of prints took 3 years to produce. He stood side by side in the darkroom as Adams made some of his most celebrated prints.

“I was the photographic assistant at the time and ordered all the materials,” he said. “We used about 20,000 sheets of 16-by-20 inch paper and Ansel made every one of those prints. People would introduce me as Ansel Adams’ printer. I was never Ansel Adams’ printer--Ansel was Ansel Adams’ printer.

“I’ve printed from Ansel’s negatives, mostly for publication use, both before he died (in 1984) and after. I’d work in the darkroom with him if he was feeling particularly bad. Normally I would run the prints through the stop bath, fixer, tone and wash.”

Despite such a close working relationship with Adams, Sexton has gained a formidable reputation for his own work. He now has a show on display at the Susan Spiritus Gallery in Costa Mesa.

One phase of his current work is a distinct change of pace for Sexton, who, like Adams, is known for his landscapes. The new direction revolves around a power plant in Wisconsin.

“I’m real excited about it and I can’t even tell you why I’m doing it,” he said. “I stumbled into the power plant unexpectedly and did a test photograph to see if I could make a photograph because the building was shaking unbelievably. The exposures are as short as 4 minutes and as long as 1 hour, but the camera moves with the objects so they (prints) are razor sharp.

“To me the photographs are about contradiction. I’m very sensitive to the environment and the need to preserve and take care of it. Power plants are not the thing that crosses my mind when I think about preserving the environment.”

“New Work by John Sexton” continues through Dec. 31 at Susan Spiritus Gallery, Suite 330, 3333 Bear St., Costa Mesa. Hours: weekdays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Information: (714) 549-7550.