Longmont, Colorado, Sally in the Backyard 1981

Robert Adams made this photograph, ‘Longmont, Colorado, Sally in the Backyard’ with film, sometime in the 20th century. The grayscale gives it a timeless quality, like a memory half-faded. It reminds me of making a drawing, where each mark builds on the last, creating depth and texture. The picture plane is full of different textures and shades of light and shadow, the fence, the greenery, the dog's fur. Look closely at Sally's fur, how it catches the light, each strand seems to have its own story. The texture almost makes you want to reach out and touch it. What do you notice about the composition and light? The dog is smack dab in the middle, there's not really a figure-ground relationship, the dog, the fence and the garden are all just part of the world, equally in focus. Adams' work makes me think of other photographers like Stephen Shore, who also looked at the American landscape with a quiet, observant eye. But really, art is a conversation, one image echoing another across time.