Neahkahnie Mountain, Oregon 2004

Robert Adams made this photograph, titled 'Neahkahnie Mountain, Oregon', using gelatin silver. It looks like a simple record of branches and leaves against the sky, but it feels so much more than that, right? I imagine Adams standing there, maybe a little cold, definitely patient, waiting for the light to be just so, to reveal the bones of the tree against the bleached sky. There’s something about the starkness of black and white, the way it strips away the color and leaves you with just form and texture, that feels so direct, so honest. Look at the way the light catches the edges of those leaves, some eaten away by bugs, each one telling a story of survival and resilience. Adams is often mentioned alongside other photographers who also make work about the environment. But it is the poetry that speaks to me, as well as that sense of the artist waiting for something to arrive – maybe the picture itself! He reminds us that even in the most seemingly mundane subjects, there's beauty to be found, if you just take the time to look. And make pictures. That’s what we all do, us artists, and photographers too; we keep each other looking.