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PORTFOLIO

Portfolio

by Kara Fox


FROM CORPORATE TO COWBOY


Sitting across from Robert Adams one senses the grace of a man who truly 'feels' the splendor of nature. He exudes an elegant quietness as he talks of his life-long commitment to photography.  His desire for a private life is suddenly destroyed as one views his etheral landscapes. In this 'other worldly' beauty he reveals so much of who he is and what he values...words are unnecessary.


Bob's mother, coming from a large family, provided the inspiration that was to serve as his guide throughout his life. An uncle through marriage lived the life Bob dreamed of having as an adult. This uncle was Bob's hero. If he liked something, Bob liked it. As it happened, his uncle embraced the outdoors and loved to photograph nature. He had all the very best camera equipment. Bob wanted to be like him. And in many ways, he probably has more than achieved his goal.

As Bob explains, "I bought my first camera when i was 14 with earnings from my paper route. It was a Kokak 35 mm camera with a small gear next to the lens to focus the picture. I have been taking photographs ever since. Although for most of my professional career this activity took second place to raising my family (I have many photos of my children with backpacks on their backs or their heads barely sticking out of a sleeping bag covered with frost in some mountainous area)."

Bob's career in high-technology took most of his time and energy and much of his time was spent on airplanes, traveling the world. Between family and career he found himself hopelessly busy. Often he would dream of wandering in nature remembering the times as a teen when he backpacked in the wilderness. As his career flourished, he would try to carve out time to take his family on his outdoor excursions. Nature was calling out to him.

Four things came together to drastically change Bob's relationship to photography. First, he began his path to retirement which provided more time for his passion.


Second, the advent of digital cameras provided high density RAW images making it possible for him to process his images in his home office on his computer.

"I have used a variety of Nikon cameras over time, currently a D200 and a variety of lenses, mostly Nikon. My favorite, most used lenses are a Nikon 70 to 200 and an 11 to 20 wide angle zoom. I use a number of filters including neutral density, graduated neutral density and circular polarizing filters. I do not use color filters as I prefer to select a layer in Photoshop to provide a filter effect. I print on an Epson Ultrachrome K3 Stylus Pro 4800 and scan slides on a Nikon Super Coolscan 4000."

Third, the introduction of Adobe Photoshop which allowed him personal control of the entire developing process, from the original image (digital or scanned slide) to printing on a high quality digital color printer.

Fourth, the growing number of photography workshops that have become available helped to increase his knowledge and abilities.


For years Bob's training was to study the images of Galen Rowell, Eliot Porter, Freeman Patterson and others in an attempt to learn how they made such impressionable images. You might notice that these photographers are different in many aspects, but their love of fully saturated color images was an important factor to Bob. "There are hundreds (or more) opportunities to have an expert instructor lead you to ideal locations and more importantly to enable you to see differently and in a sense develop a new way of seeing. An example is Eddie Soloway (www.anaturaleye.com), who increased my ability to see nature in a different way. I still frequently return to his site to look again at his images. His blog in itself is inspirational."

When Bob Adams began to feel comfortable sharing some of his images with friends, he felt they were just being nice when they complimented him. To test what they were telling him, he entered several competitions to see if friends were just being kind. And, not surprisingly, he began to win...he was "happy as hell with it!"  And so, today, Robert Adams no longer dons the suit and tie of his corporate world...he puts on his jeans, grabs his camera and climbs into his big white truck and off he goes to capture the 'exquisiteness' of nature.

As you view this portfolio you will see how much he has accomplished on a grand scale!

See Bob Adam's Full Sized Complete Gallery



To learn more about Robert  Adams please visit his website at www.AdamsEdenPhotography.Com.


 


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