Neahkahnie Mountain, Oregon 2004

Robert Adams made this photograph, Neahkahnie Mountain, Oregon, using traditional photographic materials. It's not so much a record of place as it is a study in tone and light, with the leaves and branches almost like a screen. What really grabs me here is the way Adams uses grayscale. It's not about a smooth gradient, but a series of contrasts, from the near-white sky, to the charcoal-like shadows of the leaves in the foreground. The edges of the leaves, with their chewed edges and insect bites, look like they've been drawn with a very fine brush. I'm reminded of the work of Minor White. Like White, Adams invites us to consider photography not just as a recording medium, but as a field for artistic experiment. His work makes you think about how to look at the world, and how photography can transform the everyday into something extraordinary.