Who Is Robert Adams:

Robert Adams was an American Photographer, best known for his published book in 1974 called The New West, his landscape photos of the changing west and his affiliation with the exhibition called The New Topographics.

His Photography was influenced by the changes happening in America at the time, with the addition of man altered areas and suburban houses.

His Work:

His work featuring New Topographics was black and white photos of the changing west. The idea of his work in relation to New Topographics would feature elements from the man-made parts of our world with what was remaining of the natural parts, typically in the background to symbolise that man-made things were replacing the natural world.

This image for example, involves a gas station as the main subject. You can see elements of man-made objects being present in things like the lines and shapes, things like the big sign, poles and the building’s corners have very sharp edges and straight lines. They are manufactured and perfect. However, the mountain seen in the background appears to have a more rocky, rough-like look. It is uneven and messy. It is not manufactured and is natural.

Other elements that can be labelled and compared are:

The lighting that involves the street lights and the sky, the overall tone, the patterns in the shapes and/or the composition with the organisation of the visual elements, layout, contrast or viewpoints.