Ansel Adams Wannabe Series – B&W Photo No. 02

This picture was taken on our first trip to Zion National Park on 08/20/2008. It is but one of a dozen beautiful views that were available from the switchbacks along UT-Route 9 that lead up to the tunnel near the top of  the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway. Ansel Adams, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the Yosemite National Park, is one of my all-time favorite photographers. Following in his tradition, I sometimes find myself trying  to view what a shot will look like in B&W, even before taking the picture. In many photographs, color distracts from the overall effect of the picture; whereas a black and white photo allows one to focus solely on key forms and details that are present within the image. Changing it to black and white tones down the distractions and makes the flowing shapes much more noticeable. Smoke Signals: The use of smoke signals is one of the oldest forms of communication in recorded history going as far back as the Chinese when soldiers stationed along the Great Wall would alert each other of impending enemy attack by signaling from tower to tower. In this way, they were able to transmit a message as far away as 500 miles in just a few hours. The North American Indians also communicated via smoke signal; a kind of Indian telegraphy. Each tribe had their own signaling system and understanding. For the most part the signals or code was pre-arranged between the sender and the receiver. There was no universal code for shapes, frequency or multiples of puffs. A signaler started a fire on an elevation typically using damp grass, which would cause a column of smoke to rise. The grass would be taken off as it dried and another bundle would be placed on the fire. Smoke could be made to curl in spirals, ascend in puffs or circles, even parallel lines. There were a few overall accepted meanings such as three puffs in rapid succession usually indicated danger. Reputedly the location of the smoke along the incline conveyed a meaning. If it came from half way up the hill, this would signify all was well, but from the top of the hill it would signify danger.

As you can tell by viewing the original photo on the right, I first cropped the image to help better concentrate one’s focus onto the two mountain peaks. When I captured this shot, I immediately noticed that the cloud formation just above the main peak resembled what looked like an Indian smoke signal rising from the top of the mountain. To further enhance this effect I cheated just a little by making the cloud more ‘wispy’ and then bringing it down to meet with the top edge of the peak.  Finally, converting it to a black and white and enhancing the contrast not only brought out the detail of the rocky cliffs, but also made the cloud look more like smoke.