Dogwood Blossoms
Original Photograph Negative: 1938
Artist: Ansel Adams
Available As
Original Photograph
Original Photograph Negative: 1938
Artist: Ansel Adams
Available As
Depending upon the year, the dogwood bloom typically peaks during April or May in Yosemite National Park, evoking bursts of starlight against the bare forest backdrop. This dramatic contrast prompted Adams to compose one of his most prominent still-life images. To capture the twelve blossoms in this spectacular array, he placed them atop a nearby rock covered with pine needles and lichen. The Sierra Club published Dogwood Blossoms in 1960 after Ansel Adams selected it, along with 15 other images, for inclusion in the artist’s Portfolio 3. At the end of his life, Adams selected it for his Museum Set, a retrospective portfolio of what he considered his strongest work, as well as including it in the Special Edition of Yosemite series. At the end of his life, Ansel communicated the significance of this image by including it as one of the variants in his last major project, The Museum Set.
Each year, for about three weeks in April or May, the blooming of Yosemite’s famous dogwood trees turns the Merced River Valley into a kaleidoscope of brilliant white blossoms and tiny yellow buds. This awe-inspiring scene would inspire one of the few still-life images of Ansel Adams’s career, “Dogwood Blossoms.”
Each year, for about three weeks in April or May, the blooming of Yosemite’s famous dogwood trees turns the Merced River Valley into a kaleidoscope of brilliant white blossoms and tiny yellow buds. This awe-inspiring scene would inspire one of the few still-life images of Ansel Adams’s career, “Dogwood Blossoms.”
Each year, for about three weeks in April or May, the blooming of Yosemite’s famous dogwood trees turns the Merced River Valley into a kaleidoscope of brilliant white blossoms and tiny yellow buds. This awe-inspiring scene would inspire one of the few still-life images of Ansel Adams’s career, “Dogwood Blossoms.”
Ansel Adams’ rare ability to transform geographic reality into transcendent emotional experience for the viewer established him as one of the foremost American photographers—and conservationist—of his time. Ansel Adams photographs served witness to the powerful beauty of America’s Wilderness, influencing the protection of vast swaths of land in the West.
We are excited to share ten of Ansel Adams’s most inspiring photographs.
