The River’s Edge 2015

Robert Adams made this photograph, The River’s Edge, and, in the grey scale, there is a lot of tonal range here, with a real variety of shades. I imagine Adams waiting for hours, the tide receding to expose this old tree trunk, bleached and craggy, sitting on the flat sand like an ancient monument. What might he have been thinking, looking out into that quiet scene? The texture is incredible; I can almost feel the rough bark and worn edges. He's got this eye for the subtle play of light and shadow, especially in the way the water reflects the sky. It reminds me of other landscape photographers like Carleton Watkins, maybe because it is a similar way of seeing, of feeling, and being inside the landscape. Artists learn from each other across time, building on what came before, and I feel a connection here to that ongoing creative conversation. Painting, photography, all art forms offer a way to understand our world.