Anyone who loves the outdoors shouldn't miss the newest exhibit at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. Ansel Adams: America contains 47 black-and-white photographs by the renowned environmentalist and educator, also referred to as America's Photographer.
Most of the collection is landscape images, many from places you might be familiar with, such as "The Tetons and the Snake River, Teton National Park, Wyoming, 1942," "Sand Dunes, Sunrise, Death Valley National Monument, 1948," and "Moon and Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, 1960."
Others will draw you in and might just entice you to visit a new place in hopes of experiencing a sight as spectacular as the one Adams captured in "Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1941," or the stark beauty depicted in "Aspens, Dawn, Dolores River Canyon, Colorado, 1937."
One of my favorites that stands out amidst all the landscapes is the candid shot of American painter Georgia O'Keefe and travel guide Orville Cox, taken in Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona in 1937. Their priceless expressions will leave you wondering what they were thinking about.
A local's favorite is the seldom-seen photo Adams shot from Black Canyon looking up at the Hoover Dam titled, "Boulder Dam, 1941."
The exhibition was put together exclusively for the gallery by the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Adams co-founded the center in 1975. It now serves as a museum, research institution and archive. It is the major repository of his work.
Adams was born in 1902 in San Francisco and in early adulthood his sights were set on becoming a concert pianist. When Adams' parents took him to Yosemite in 1916, they gave him a Kodak Brownie, a box camera approximately the same size as today's basic digital camera, and the rest was history.
He moved up to larger cameras, including the one on display at the exhibit. Children will especially enjoy getting under the hood of this 8-by-10 Kodak to get the feeling of what using a camera of this type would be like.
When looking at the photographs, remember in many cases he had to carry the camera, the glass negative plates and other photo equipment to shoot his images while hiking up strenuous trails. This equipment weighed about 50 pounds, and that's in addition to the food, water and other necessities he had to bring along.
Something you don't usually find at a photo exhibit adds much depth to this one: a room dedicated to articles from Adams' archives. This seems to bring alive the man behind the photographs. Items in the archive room include letters, personal memento photographs, some of his earliest art photos that he took as a teenager, his Swiss compass, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which President Jimmy Carter awarded him in 1980. Adams died in 1984.
Since this is a very popular show, to avoid crowds the gallery suggests visiting before 11 a.m. or after 6 p.m. If you are arriving first thing in the morning, head directly to the archive room first, take a left upon entering and continue all the way to the back. This way you will have more time to view the display cases before the room gets bottlenecked with other guests.
Also, allow yourself time to visit the gallery's bookstore where you can buy posters of your favorite photographs, or even a technical or picture book by Adams. They also have a large selection of items from prior shows and other educational items.
Families with children are welcome at the gallery, but since it's located right in the middle of the building you will have to walk through the casino. Once inside, though, you will forget about the crowds and dinging slot machines and enjoy the serenity of nature that Adams captured for us all.
The exhibit runs through May 7. The gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with last admission at 9:30 p.m. It is sometimes used for private events, so always call prior to your visit. General admission is $15; Nevada residents, students and seniors get in for $12. An audio tour is included with admission. Advance tickets are available by calling 693-7871, or from the gallery's Web site at www.bgfa.biz.
Deborah Wall is the author of "Great Hikes, A Cerca Country Guide," published by Stephens Press. She can be reached at Deborabus@aol.com.
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