Icons
Some photographers love them, and others avoid them like the plague. There’s probably a mix of emotions in most photographers.
What camera-toting individual could visit Yosemite National Park without going to Tunnel View? Or go to the Grand Tetons without seeking out the Mormon Barn Row?
Icons are icons because they are majestic locations. The views are breathtaking, they are easy to access, and composition is self-evident. But images of them are a dime a dozen.
I wonder if photographers secretly hope for a unique version. With the right light and weather conditions, there’s always a chance for a new and distinctive take on a familiar classic.
But most of the time, if we’re lucky, we leave with something that’s close to what others have accomplished.
Ansel Adams was without peer as a landscape photographer. He defined the genre for those that followed.
My introduction to him was via The Ansel Adams Guide series by John P. Schaeffer. Adams’ image, Tetons and the Snake River, is the defining image of this iconic location.
Tetons and the Snake River by Ansel Adams
The Shot
I was photographing fall color in Grand Tetons National Park last September. The urge to take out my camera at the Snake River overlook where Ansel Adams took his defining 1942 image was overwhelming.
Eighty-two years later, the view was quite different. The trees had grown obscuring the picturesque S-curve leading to the mountains. But part of the river and the magnificent mountains were just as visible.
My image was nothing remarkable, but satisfying, nevertheless.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus