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Following the cancellation of The Mural Project in 1942, Ansel applied for and received a Guggenheim Fellowship in the late 1940’s to complete his objective of photographing the National Parks. Before he received the Fellowship, he had not visited a number of parks in the east, northwest, and the then territories of Alaska and Hawaii. Under these circumstances in 1949, Ansel was in Mount Rainier National Park and made Forest, Early Morning. The image is full of life, with trees competing for space and downed old growth forest acting in its second life as a host for mosses and protector of undergrowth. New growth on the fir trees and a collection of broad maple leaves in the lower left of the frame bring a kaleidoscope of luminosity to the image infusing it with an energy; the scene seems so brilliant, our eyes dart around the composition almost neglecting any sense of the density of those woods. A concept of what the park ideal can be is alive in this image along with that forest; the vitality of it is contingent on the parks protection in a region historically influenced by logging. One year after it was made, this image was also included in Ansel’s Portfolio 2, ‘The National Parks and Monuments.’
