"Painted Letter" by David Young
Ansel Adams took on many photographic assignments beyond national parks. He was once hired by a bank in Hawaii to photograph the islands. Steering away from the normal attractions, he sought out undiscovered and less traveled sites to photograph. One was a cluster of grave markers in Paia, Maui. It turned out to be one of his most famous photographs entitled “Buddhist Grave Markers and Rainbow.”
Later he would write in “The Making of 40 Photographs,” that you did not have to know everything about a subject of a photo to make it great. He never did find out what the inscriptions on the stones meant, but he knew there was a great photograph in them. He said, “I am glad that I do not understand the language of operas; I can enjoy the music without being bothered with the words.” Finding good opportunities in art seems much like this to me, where too much information can stand in the way.
David Young
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