The Second Day.......Ansel Adams

"With more than half a century of camera work behind him, Ansel Adams stands as one of America’s greatest landscape photographers. His career is punctuated with countless elegant, handsomely composed, and technically flawless photographs of magnificent natural landscapes. No contemporary photographer equaled the lifetime contributions of Ansel Adams in bringing public recognition of the art of photography or taught so widely the techniques of black and white photography. His strength as an artist is largely attributed to his tireless investigation of the methods of photography, developing a careful darkroom technique of exposure and development he called the Zone System. Striking photographs of Yosemite and the surrounding the Sierra Nevada capturing the elusive visual myth and mood of these wild places became the wellspring of Ansel Adam’s consciousness and brought him widespread popular acclaim. His intimate understanding as well as passion for conservation of this pristine wilderness gave Ansel Adams the energy and tenacity needed to bring subjects to life for a wider public. His reputation has been firmly established by exhibitions in virtually every major American art museum, three Guggenheim Fellowships and a score of publications."

I had my first taste of Ansel Adam's work on a recent visit to the "Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams: Natural Affinities" exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum , Washington D.C., where the two artistes stood on common ground - O'Keeffe's paintings versus Adams' Photographs. It was an amazing experience and an inspiration. The above photograph is my tribute to Adams. I was visiting the Natural Bridge in Virginia on Christmas eve, and the creek was frozen in sections. These fallen leaves under the ice looked happy to be there, or were they crying to break free?!