The Clearing Winter Storm Project came about on November 24th, 2006 when I decided to visit the Wawona Tunnel Overlook on Highway 41 in Yosemite.  My goal was to photograph the ground that Ansel Adams stood upon while creating what may be his most famous Yosemite photograph “Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite Valley, 1944.”  What did I find where Ansel stood? Cigarette butts, gum, coffee cups, and so much more.  I was so disgusted that I ended up scouring the steep hillside for 3 full days picking up every piece of litter within a 100 foot radius of where he stood.

 

I became very interested in this refuse that had become part of the Yosemite landscape, I hauled tires up the steep hill, unearthed an 800 dollar camera lense, collected over a thousand cigarette butts, and so much more.  Each item became an archaeological find that for me is telling of the story of Yosemite.  I organized and tallied the trash, placing each type of trash into a separate large zip lock bag.  I later displayed the resulting 18 bags, which contained an astounding 3,011 pieces of trash in a large grid next to an original copy of the Adams’ image from the same location at an exhibition in the Center gallery at California College of the Arts.    

I don’t intend to down play or discredit Ansel Adams with this work, as he is ultimately one of the greatest photographers and environmentalists to ever live.  But I would rather comment on how iconic images like “Clearing Winter Storm” mold a viewers expectation of places like Yosemite long before they even visit, as a result people tend to seek out what they have seen in photographs when visiting Yosemite.  This preconditioning seems to neglect the visitors experience of many of the minute and non-grandiose features which make Yosemite an even more incredible place.