Along the South St. Vrain Creek, Boulder County, Colorado 1977

This gelatin silver print, made by Robert Adams, captures a view along the South St. Vrain Creek in Boulder County, Colorado. I imagine Adams standing there, the camera his tool for framing a specific view. The landscape unfolds in layers: the road, the eroded bank, the wild grasses, the mountains in the distance. It's a study in contrasts, the man-made road cutting through the natural landscape. What was Adams thinking about when he made this? Maybe he was contemplating the relationship between nature and civilization. The way we shape the land and how the land endures, despite our interventions. The monochromatic palette emphasizes the textures: the grainy earth, the soft foliage, the rugged mountains. It's a quiet, contemplative image. Adams’ work reminds me of other landscape photographers, like Ansel Adams, but with a more critical eye. He shows us not just the beauty of the American West but also the impact of human presence. And that’s something, as artists, we all grapple with in our own way.