Review: Ansel Adams in the Canadian Rockies
I
have always associated photographer Ansel Adams (1902-1984) with the
American West, especially Yosemite National Park. What I didn't know was
that one of his earliest photography expeditions was to the Canadian
Rockies.
In 1928, he was picked as the official (though
unpaid) photographer for a Sierra Club trip to Jasper National Park and
Mount Robson Provincial Park in, respectively, Alberta and British
Columbia.
That summer marked a time of change for
Adams: he was a newlywed and was just beginning to make a name for
himself as photographer. The requirements of the Canadian trip forced
him to juggle his budding artistic vision with the practical job of
recording the sights for the Sierra Club and the paying participants.
The stunning photographs collected in Ansel Adams in the Canadian Rockies
are accompanied by sparse text, some of it in Adams's own words (a
letter to his wife and an extract from his autobiography). He was
clearly moved by what he saw; the wilderness and majesty of the Canadian
mountains offered such a contrast from the California Sierras.
The black-and-white photos collected in Ansel Adams in the Canadian Rockies
are simply beautiful and awe inspiring. In addition, these amazing images
provide a glimpse of Adams as a young artist as well as offer a record
of what has been lost to climate change and development.
Ansel Adams in the Canadian Rockies
would make a special gift for the photographers and art lovers on your
holiday list. I plan to keep this one for myself, however, allowing
Adams's work to transport me to a place of timeless beauty.
Note on the photo: Photo of Ansel Adams taken by J. Malcolm Greany in about 1950; in the public domain (click image to view full size).
Hachette Book Group / Little, Brown, 2013
ISBN-13: 9780316243414
Source: Review (see review policy)
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy).
