Clatsop Beach, Oregon 1999

Robert Adams made this gelatin silver print, "Clatsop Beach, Oregon," without a specified date, using a camera and darkroom, of course. What strikes me is the light, it almost feels like the photograph is bleached. The limited tonal range creates a contemplative mood. The man in the distance, he’s there, but also not there, kind of swallowed up by the landscape, which is how I often feel looking at the ocean. It feels like you could almost walk into the photograph. The beach itself looks almost like asphalt, or some other flat, grey surface - is it natural, or has it been modified by people? This makes me think of Bernd and Hilla Becher, with their typologies of industrial structures, how they make you see the landscape in a new way. It's like a silent conversation between artists, each adding their voice to the mix. There's no right answer, just different ways of seeing.