Archive for the ‘Ansel Adams’ Category

Hiking and National Park related Gift Ideas

Monday, November 29th, 2010
So we're less than four weeks away from Christmas and you're still looking for some gift ideas, or maybe just trying to find a simple stocking stuffer for that outdoor lover in your life.

Let me offer a few ideas that would make any hiker or fan of the Great Smoky Mountains a happy camper on Christmas morning:

Where are the best places to hike and take pictures in the Smokies? You now have the option to take the latest technology with you into the park to guide you to the places you want to go. This summer Travel Photo Guides released its iPhone App for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The App offers the best places to hike, the best places to take pictures of beautiful vistas, rivers and waterfalls, and where to find wildflowers and wildlife. It even provides camera settings and GPS coordinates.

So maybe that hiker is a little old school. How about a couple of trail maps? National Geographic Trails Illustrated recently published two new maps for the Smokies: one for Western Smokies that includes Cades Cove and Elkmont, and the other for the Eastern Smokies that includes Clingmans Dome, Mt. Leconte and Cataloochee. The maps show much greater detail, including backcountry campsites, footbridges, fords and stream crossings, nature/interpretive trails, as well as detailed trail mileages.

Just last month a brand new collection of photos from Ansel Adams was published. The book is the most comprehensive collection of Ansel Adams' photographs of national parks and wilderness areas. It includes more than two hundred photographs - many rarely seen and some never before published.

How about two old classic board games with a new National Park twist? Check out the National Parks Edition of Monopoly or Yahtzee.

Although spring is still a few months away, the Great Smoky Mountains Association has an excellent wildflower field guide for the Smokies (one that I own myself). The book is packed with color photographs and explains how to identify wildflowers in the field. It also includes sections on suggested walks, hikes, and drives in the park as well.

Becoming Odyssa: Epic Adventures on the Appalachian Trail, is the brand new book from Jennifer Pharr Davis - the current female Appalachian Trail speed record holder. The new release chronicles her experiences during her first hike across the 2175-mile trail out of college.

Calendars also make for great stocking stuffers - and Amazon sells hundreds. For hikers, check out the Zen of Hiking or the Appalachian Trail wall calendars. How about the National Parks calendar, or the Blue Ridge Mountains wall calendars. The Ansel Adams calendar is always a popular choice as well.

And then of course there's always gift cards and gift certificates: Patagonia, Nantahala Outdoor Center, Backcountry.com and Amazon all offer gift cards or certificates in any amount you wish to purchase.


For more ideas, and a full list of book and maps related to the Great Smoky Mountains and the surrounding Southern Appalachian region, please visit the: Smoky Mountains Day Hikers Store


Thank you!

Jeff

Posted in Ansel Adams, Becoming Odyssa, Great Smoky Mountains, Hiking, Jennifer Pharr Davis, National Park, Smokies, Travel Photo Guides iPhone App, gift ideas, photographs | Comments Off

Ansel Adams photos purchased at garage sale

Thursday, July 29th, 2010
Rick Norsigian purchased a box of old glass negatives at a garage sale in Fresno, CA for $45. They are now estimated to be worth $200 million.

Ten years after making that fateful purchase, Norsigian now claims he has proof that the negatives were taken by Ansel Adams during the 1920s and 30s.

The collection includes never-before-seen shots of Yosemite and other locations from Adams' early career, a period that is not well documented due to a darkroom fire in 1937 that destroyed 5,000 glass plates.

Matthew Adams, grandson of Ansel Adams, however, says there's no real hard evidence that negatives are actually from his grandfather.

CNN has an interview with Norsigian and showcases several of the images. You be the judge:




Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

Posted in Ansel Adams, Yosemite, garage sale, photos, purchased | Comments Off

Museum acquires rare Ansel Adams Smokies photograph

Friday, November 20th, 2009
The Knoxville Museum of Art recently announced the acquisition of a rare photograph, Dawn, Autumn Forest, Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee, taken in the Great Smoky Mountains by Ansel Adams. Adams shot the image in 1948 while taking photographs as part of a Guggenheim Fellowship on America’s national parks and monuments. This was Adams' only recorded visit to Tennessee.

Ansel Adams (1902-1984), "Dawn, Autumn Forest, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee", 1948. Silver gelatin print; printed c. 1970-76, 19.25 x 14.25 inches. ©2009 The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust.

Adams (1902-1984) is best known for his timeless black-and-white images of Yosemite National Park and many of the other natural wonders in the American West. However, evidence suggests Adams discovered the Smokies to be an intimidating subject. In a letter written on October 9, 1948, the artist confided that “The Smokys are OK in their way, but they are going to be devilish hard to photograph...”

Adams only published four images from his visit. Prints of these are little known and exceedingly rare. The KMA was able to acquire one of the four, Dawn, Autumn Forest, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, thanks to generous financial support from Patricia and Alan Rutenberg and Mary Ellen and Steve Brewington.

The photograph will be on display in the Knoxville Museum of Art main lobby before being incorporated into Higher Ground: A Century of the Visual Arts in East Tennessee, the museum's permanent installation devoted to the art and artists of our region.

The KMA is seeking prints of Adams’ other three published images of the Smoky Mountains with the hope that they will become the first museum to acquire the complete set.

The museum is located at 1050 World’s Fair Park in Knoxville and is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday 10 am–5 pm, Friday 10 am–8 pm, and Sunday 1 pm-5 pm. Admission and parking are free.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, hiking gear store, and more.

Posted in Ansel Adams, Archaeology and the Native Peoples of Tennessee, Autumn Forest, Dawn, Great Smoky Mountains, Knoxville Museum of Art | Comments Off