Robert Adams

Adams was interesting to

me because of the
simplicity of his photos,
and how he captured the
changing west. Born in New
Jersey Adams went to
college for English and
received His PHD in 1965.
Adams received recognition
for his work in the 70’s,
when he became known for
his photos depicting the
way the west was changing
as people moved there, and
the huge plains of space
started to be used for
industry.
About Robert Adams
● Adams used a 35 millimeter reflex camera for some time but
information on newer cameras is scarce.

● He is most known for his depiction of the changing west in the

late sixties and throughout the 70s.

● His photographic style was simple, as he set out to capture

just the silence and stillness of the west at the time. His
work is revolutionary because of how his ecological
protectiveness was apparent in his photos.

● Adams released his photos in a series of more than 25 books.

● some of his most famous books are The New West, Our Lives and
Our Children,and Turning Back.
Clearcut Humbug Mountain, Clatsop County Oregon,
1999-2003 (above) Sunday School 1969 (left)
Clastop County, Oregon (below) Curtis Street, Denver
1968-71.(left)
Schoolyard. Ramah, Colorado. 1968. (left) North of Briggsdale, Colorado. 1973 (right)
Construction Materials 1973 (left)
Pikes Peak 1969 (above) Quarried Mesa
Top 1978 (bottom)
Burning Oil Sludge North of Denver,
Colorado 1973 (left) Unnamed 1974
(bottom)
Unnamed 1974 (left) Unnamed 1979 (right)
Robert Adams

Adams was inspired by those who came before him such as Timothy
O'Sullivan, William Henry Jackson, and Carleton Watkins. They all
had the same style of capturing the peaceful west, but also
sending a deeper message

Adams sent a deeper message about protecting the environment. He

portrays this with pictures of mass deforestation, and clouds of
burning oil sludge polluting beautiful places

Robert Adams uses lots of in often to show a man made object as

foreground and a nature scene blurier in the back, almost
symbolizing the object ruining the scene behind it.
Bibliography
http://www.famousphotographers.net/robert-adams
https://www.moma.org/collection/works/56646
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/photography/9372560/Prix-Pictet-Shortlist-2012.html?frame=2265993
https://www.vincentborrelli.com/pages/books/105058/robert-adams/robert-adams-the-new-west-landscap
es-along-the-colorado-front-range-second-english-edition
https://www.prixpictet.com/portfolios/power-shortlist/robert-adams/
https://www.lensculture.com/projects/145-prairie
https://www.westword.com/arts/a-traveling-show-at-the-dam-reveals-much-about-the-work-of-colorado-ph
otographer-robert-adams-5114411
http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/221877/robert-adams-burning-oil-sludge-north-of-denver-colora
do-american-1973/
http://www.anatomyfilms.com/robert-adams-social-landscape/
http://www.henricartierbresson.org/en/expositions/robert-adams/