Originally published in Zotzine Vol. 2, Iss. 1
In Ansel Adams’ footsteps
Student and staff photographers walk in the footsteps of Ansel Adams, attempting to re-create the master’s photographs shot at UCI in the mid-1960s. Trees and time have changed the campus.
When most people think of Ansel Adams, black-and-white images of Yosemite National Park and the American West come to mind; they don’t typically envision UC Irvine.
Yet in the mid-1960s, Adams did photograph UCI, along with the other University of California campuses, to commemorate the UC’s 1968 centennial. Adams took 1,761 photos for the project, including more than 100 of the new Irvine campus. Select images were reproduced in a book called Fiat Lux, and the collection now resides at UC Riverside’s California Museum of Photography. Recently, student and staff photographers from University Communications at UCI decided to walk in Adams’ footsteps – and re-create his images from the same spots where the master once stood.
It wasn’t easy.
Adams shot the campus using large- and medium-format film cameras, like the 4-by-5-inch film camera in the first image of the slide show. The UCI team had modern (and comparatively lightweight) digital, single-lens reflex cameras at their disposal, but the campus has changed dramatically in the past four decades, making it impossible to reproduce many images.
Today there are trees – lots of them. Mere sprouts in Adams’ day, they now block several scenes he photographed. New buildings and renovations have also thwarted certain views.
Capturing the light – as Adams did so artistically – proved difficult as well. The UCI team worked under the high summer sun, and Adams shot the campus during winter, when the sun is low in the sky, creating different shadows.
Still, the photos in this slide show – produced by Daniel A. Anderson, UCI director of visual communications, and undergraduates Hoang Xuan Pham and Michelle S. Kim – were never meant to duplicate Adams’ work. They’re simply a tribute to his spirit, a challenging exercise in photography and a fun way to see how the campus has evolved over the years. Check the locations – perhaps you too will be inspired to get your camera and follow in Adams’ footsteps.
- Science Lecture Hall, William Pereira, Architect December, 1966 Ansel Adams
- Howard Schneiderman Lecture Hall, Daniel A. Anderson, Photojournalist September, 2009 Hoang Xuan Pham
- Drama Rehearsal, misty morning December, 1966 Ansel Adams
- University Students, summer morning September, 2009 Daniel A. Anderson, Michelle Kim, Hoang Xuan Pham
- Irvine, General Campus April, 1967 Ansel Adams
- Irvine, Founders’ Court September, 2009 Hoang Xuan Pham
- Irvine, General Campus April, 1967 Ansel Adams
- Irvine, Murray Krieger Hall September, 2009 Hoang Xuan Pham
- Girl on steps of Student Union, distant building showing December, 1966 Ansel Adams
- Girl on steps of Gateway Study Center, distant trees showing September, 2009 Hoang Xuan Pham, Daniel A. Anderson
- Campus Scenes December, 1966 Ansel Adams
- Campus Scenes, Murray Krieger Hall from Humanities Hall second floor September, 2009 Hoang Xuan Pham
- Campus Details December 1966 Ansel Adams
- Langson Library September, 2009 Hoang Xuan Pham, Daniel A. Anderson, Michelle Kim
- Science hall porch, view east January, 1966 Ansel Adams
- Howard Schneiderman Lecture Hall porch, view east September, 2009 Hoang Xuan Pham
- Foreground (Left to Right): Photographers Daniel A. Anderson, Hoang Xuan Pham, Michelle Kim during the “University Students, summer morning” photoshoot