Robert Adams was born in May 1937 and is an American photographer who has focused on the changing landscape of the American West. His first work to become prominence in the mid – 1970s through his book ‘The New West’. His participation in the exhibition The New Topographics was also a dominant feature in helping his career.  He twice recieved a Guggenheim fellowship, a MacArthur Fellowship and he won the Deutsche Borse photography prize as well as the Hasselbald Award.

Image Analysis

It appears that natural lighting was used to capture this photograph due to the natural tones and contrast in the photograph. This allows the photo to convey a sense of realism and make the audience feel as if they can connect with the photo more. This is contrasted with the way there is no color involved within the photo which makes the photo surreal and creates a sense of mystery and a more dramatic image. The use of black and white helps to focus on the main subjects, thus being the caravans, to allow Adams messages to be portrayed. This photo shows the start of civilization and man-made structures with natural objects appearing towards the back of the photograph. It shows how the New Topographic movement was a reaction to the Romantics by the use of the juxtaposition with the man made features in the foreground and the natural features in the background. In my opinion, this photograph is a message to reflect how man made structures are taking over our society and dominating these natural areas. This is clearly reflected by the way in which the natural features are pushed towards the back of the photo and are not the main feature like they would be in romanticism photography.