Winter Sunrise, the Sierra Nevada, from Lone Pine, California Possibly 1944 - 1980

Ansel Adams made this gelatin silver print of the Sierra Nevada at Lone Pine, California. The way Adams coaxes so many shades from black and white reminds me of working with a limited palette. It forces you to push what you have, to find subtlety in restriction. Look at the peak of the mountain, how the light grazes its crags and crevices. It’s almost tactile, like you could reach out and feel the cold stone. The blackness of the foreground hill throws the snowy peaks into stark relief. The trees look like lace. There’s a similar feeling to some of Edward Weston’s landscapes, that same reverence for the natural world, the way both artists transform a physical space into something almost spiritual. Ultimately, Adams' image is a testament to the power of light and shadow. It’s about finding the extraordinary in the everyday, and about reminding us to look closer, to see more.