Columbia County, Oregon 2003

Robert Adams made this gelatin silver print, Columbia County, Oregon, sometime in the last century. It's not a pretty picture, but it’s interesting. The photograph has a very particular sense of texture and tone, like a pencil drawing. The landscape is rendered in shades of gray that give the scene a tactile quality. You can almost feel the rough bark of the tree stump and the scrubby undergrowth. I like the way Adams uses light to create a sense of depth, especially in the way the telephone pole is placed. The composition is deceptively simple, but everything is carefully placed. The dark tree stump is contrasted against the bright sky, for example. I'm reminded of the stark landscapes of the Bechers with their typologies of industrial structures. But this photo is softer, more melancholic. It invites us to reflect on our relationship with the natural world. It's about seeing the beauty and the ugliness all at once.