Robert Adams

On Signal Hill, Overlooking Long Beach, CaliforniaOn Signal Hill, Overlooking Long Beach California, 1983; photograph; gelatin silver print, 9 in. x 11 1/4 in. (22.86 cm x 28.58 cm); Collection SFMOMA, Gift of John "Launny" Steffens; © Robert Adams

In this photo by Robert Adams I see two trees on a hill overlooking a city. There is grass on the hill, and the trees are bare, suggesting to me that its probably late Autumn or possibly Winter. It looks hazy, there are no visible clouds and it seems like the sun is breaking through the haze. There are houses, roads, and buildings in the city below and I see the horizon in the distance. There must be a substantial population in the town considering the number of buildings and the roads. The trees are more prominent in the photo and the city below is in the distance. The colors closest to us are much darker and the photo gets lighter in the background. It has a serious feel to it and is a bit gloomy.

Adams is showing how the natural landscape is getting smaller and smaller by human intervention. What's left of this landscape are the two trees, and they look somewhat pathetic. Partly because they are not blooming and partly because there are only two trees but thousands of houses. The way they are growing they seem to be leaning over, sort of like they have given up, or even reaching up asking for help. They seem weak against the big city that they overlook. But at the same time, the photograph has a glimmer of hope. The tree on the left is younger, the bark is much smaller, so even though our natural landscape is decaying, there is hope for new growth.

I think this photograph is representative of Adams' work. It shows a natural landscape against a backdrop of a man made landscape. He's trying to tell us that we do not have unlimited resources, and that we should appreciate the beauty of what we have. It's also representative of his use of light. It has a stark and somber feeling to it, as do many of his landscape photos. The natural landscape is the prominent subject but we feel the presence of humans and there is a sense of the relationship between the two. I think it makes a statement about nature, like much of his work. His view is important, we must think about our natural resources and how to preserve them. It's interesting that he started taking these photos in the 1970's, and his message is just as important today as it was thirty or forty years ago.