Book R eviews
Book R E d it e d
by
D
eview s
a v id
Stev
en son
Yosemite in the Sixties. G l e n D e n n y . S a n t a B a r b a r a , CA. P a t a g o n i a a n d T. A d l e r B o o k s . 2007.106 b l a c k a n d w h i t e p h o t o s . 144 p a g e s . H a r d cover.
$60.00.
If you take a chunk o f the real w orld an d shove it th ro u g h a lens, voila, you have a p h o to g rap h . Som e w ould say you have “c a p tu re d ” the m om ent o r “recorded” the event. Perhaps, b u t we shouldn’t treat all p h o tographs the same. Some represent b u t others illustrate while still others evoke. The im pact o f som e p h otos depends in p art on the artistic deci sions m ade by the p h o to g rap h er an d also on w hat the viewer brings to them , and the m ore this is so, the m ore reality recedes. For those o f us w ho were lucky en ough to th ro w dow n a sleeping bag in C am p 4 in the 1950s and 1960s, D enny’s p ictures serve as rem in d ers o f the co n tra d ic tio n s o f o u r youth. We sought freedom thro u g h the co n stru ctio n o f iron ladders on big walls; we w ent one up on the m aterial w orld by deciding we could do w ith o u t; we were fierce individualists (as, I th in k , D enny’s photos reveal) and at h eart loners w ho form ed friendships th a t (usually) survived the grab bag o f quirks, tics, phobias, an d neuroses th at shaped o u r personalities. For those who cam e to Yosemite later (or have yet to com e), D enny’s pictures will have to stand on their own. W hile they can be viewed as m em en to s from a bygone era, they also tra n scend tim e as m uch as they attest to it. The cubist geom etry o f Yosemite’s walls hasn’t changed. D enny sees the rock as found sculpture and takes delight in the play o f light and shadow (in two photos, he sees a climber as shadow). Almost half o f the photos show climbers climbing. In many o f them the clim ber is small and the rock vast, and, since we can’t see the antiq u ated gear being used, we m ight im agine th at the pictures were taken at any tim e in Yosemite’s clim bing history. In other photos the tools o f the tim e are on full display— a shot o f C h ouinard sorting gear for a big wall, other shots in which bongs and Lost Arrow pitons and alum inum oval carabiners crowd picnic tables, and shots on climbs that show the use o f Goldline rope and curious footwear. Also specifically o f the tim e are th e p o rtraits o f clim bers, ab o ut a th ird o f the collection. It’s hard to im agine th a t D enny m anaged to p h o to g rap h everyone w ho was doing significant clim bs in the 1960s, b u t it seem s th a t way. C h o u in a rd , Roper, R obbins, H arding, Kor, P ratt, Frost, Rowell, Bridwell, Sacherer, and Schm itz appear m ore th an once, and a n u m b er o f oth er clim bers can regard them selves as duly m em orialized. In an extended essay in th e book, Steve R oper rem arks on D enny’s ability to capture n o t only the faces o f these clim bers b u t also their personalities. In m ost o f these shots, if th e clim ber was aware o f D enny’s lens he d id n ’t show it, and so the face is m ore interesting, m o re revealing, th an if th e clim ber h ad been asked to say “cheese.” In the 1960s, clim bers cam ped in the u p p er p art o f C am p 4, an area now o u t o f b o u n d s, and D enny offers about 15 p h otos depicting life in the cam p, including a classic shot o f a bear
head dow n in a garbage can. T here are also photos o f a w edding in the m eadow an d a series on w inter clim bing. R ounding o u t th e collection are several peopleless p h o to s, shots th a t rem in d us o f the Valley’s beauty, both as a whole and in its parts, and th at could give som e people the n otion that being up on one o f those walls w ould be an exceptional experience. Some o f these pictures have led others to m en tio n Ansel A dams, an d this is quite u n derstandable. In the 1950s an d 1960s, Best’s Studio in the Valley exhibited m any p h otos by Adams, including one on the front porch that was four or five feet high and show ed Salathé an d N elson on th eir epic 1947 ascent o f the Lost Arrow. D enny includes an alm ost identical p h o to w ith H ard in g an d Bob Swift replacing the pioneers. But there are significant differences betw een the two photographers. Adams rarely photo g rap h ed people, an d he used a large form at cam era m o u n ted on a tripo d. D enny used a hand-held 35m m cam era. T hat said, b o th photo g rap h ers approach their subjects w ith a strong esthetic sense. A lthough D enny loves the m arriage o f clim ber an d rock, his p h o to g rap h s could easily im press som eone w ith no interest in rock clim bing. T he b ook is hand so m ely p ro d u c e d an d w ould grace any coffee table. In fact, th a t is a good place for it since it will repay repeated visits. Already the boo k has won the N ational O u t d o o r B ook Award for D esign a n d A rtistic M erit a n d th e 2007 B anff M o u n tain B ook Festival award as Best Book— M o u n tain Image. Jo e F it s c h e n
by
D
eview s
a v id
Stev
en son
Yosemite in the Sixties. G l e n D e n n y . S a n t a B a r b a r a , CA. P a t a g o n i a a n d T. A d l e r B o o k s . 2007.106 b l a c k a n d w h i t e p h o t o s . 144 p a g e s . H a r d cover.
$60.00.
If you take a chunk o f the real w orld an d shove it th ro u g h a lens, voila, you have a p h o to g rap h . Som e w ould say you have “c a p tu re d ” the m om ent o r “recorded” the event. Perhaps, b u t we shouldn’t treat all p h o tographs the same. Some represent b u t others illustrate while still others evoke. The im pact o f som e p h otos depends in p art on the artistic deci sions m ade by the p h o to g rap h er an d also on w hat the viewer brings to them , and the m ore this is so, the m ore reality recedes. For those o f us w ho were lucky en ough to th ro w dow n a sleeping bag in C am p 4 in the 1950s and 1960s, D enny’s p ictures serve as rem in d ers o f the co n tra d ic tio n s o f o u r youth. We sought freedom thro u g h the co n stru ctio n o f iron ladders on big walls; we w ent one up on the m aterial w orld by deciding we could do w ith o u t; we were fierce individualists (as, I th in k , D enny’s photos reveal) and at h eart loners w ho form ed friendships th a t (usually) survived the grab bag o f quirks, tics, phobias, an d neuroses th at shaped o u r personalities. For those who cam e to Yosemite later (or have yet to com e), D enny’s pictures will have to stand on their own. W hile they can be viewed as m em en to s from a bygone era, they also tra n scend tim e as m uch as they attest to it. The cubist geom etry o f Yosemite’s walls hasn’t changed. D enny sees the rock as found sculpture and takes delight in the play o f light and shadow (in two photos, he sees a climber as shadow). Almost half o f the photos show climbers climbing. In many o f them the clim ber is small and the rock vast, and, since we can’t see the antiq u ated gear being used, we m ight im agine th at the pictures were taken at any tim e in Yosemite’s clim bing history. In other photos the tools o f the tim e are on full display— a shot o f C h ouinard sorting gear for a big wall, other shots in which bongs and Lost Arrow pitons and alum inum oval carabiners crowd picnic tables, and shots on climbs that show the use o f Goldline rope and curious footwear. Also specifically o f the tim e are th e p o rtraits o f clim bers, ab o ut a th ird o f the collection. It’s hard to im agine th a t D enny m anaged to p h o to g rap h everyone w ho was doing significant clim bs in the 1960s, b u t it seem s th a t way. C h o u in a rd , Roper, R obbins, H arding, Kor, P ratt, Frost, Rowell, Bridwell, Sacherer, and Schm itz appear m ore th an once, and a n u m b er o f oth er clim bers can regard them selves as duly m em orialized. In an extended essay in th e book, Steve R oper rem arks on D enny’s ability to capture n o t only the faces o f these clim bers b u t also their personalities. In m ost o f these shots, if th e clim ber was aware o f D enny’s lens he d id n ’t show it, and so the face is m ore interesting, m o re revealing, th an if th e clim ber h ad been asked to say “cheese.” In the 1960s, clim bers cam ped in the u p p er p art o f C am p 4, an area now o u t o f b o u n d s, and D enny offers about 15 p h otos depicting life in the cam p, including a classic shot o f a bear
head dow n in a garbage can. T here are also photos o f a w edding in the m eadow an d a series on w inter clim bing. R ounding o u t th e collection are several peopleless p h o to s, shots th a t rem in d us o f the Valley’s beauty, both as a whole and in its parts, and th at could give som e people the n otion that being up on one o f those walls w ould be an exceptional experience. Some o f these pictures have led others to m en tio n Ansel A dams, an d this is quite u n derstandable. In the 1950s an d 1960s, Best’s Studio in the Valley exhibited m any p h otos by Adams, including one on the front porch that was four or five feet high and show ed Salathé an d N elson on th eir epic 1947 ascent o f the Lost Arrow. D enny includes an alm ost identical p h o to w ith H ard in g an d Bob Swift replacing the pioneers. But there are significant differences betw een the two photographers. Adams rarely photo g rap h ed people, an d he used a large form at cam era m o u n ted on a tripo d. D enny used a hand-held 35m m cam era. T hat said, b o th photo g rap h ers approach their subjects w ith a strong esthetic sense. A lthough D enny loves the m arriage o f clim ber an d rock, his p h o to g rap h s could easily im press som eone w ith no interest in rock clim bing. T he b ook is hand so m ely p ro d u c e d an d w ould grace any coffee table. In fact, th a t is a good place for it since it will repay repeated visits. Already the boo k has won the N ational O u t d o o r B ook Award for D esign a n d A rtistic M erit a n d th e 2007 B anff M o u n tain B ook Festival award as Best Book— M o u n tain Image. Jo e F it s c h e n
