ENDORSEMENTS & AWARDS
Awards
University of Virginia School of Architecture 2022 John Brinckerhoff Jackson Book Prize (2022)
Endorsements
"Whether you saw your first Ansel Adams image in an art school photo class or on a Hill’s Brothers coffee can, you know them well–the iconic pictures which all of us have memorized. But you may not know the volumes of Adams’ work that preceded them. Rebecca Senf’s Making a Photographer explains the four decades that led up to his ‘famous’ pictures. If you love the landscape between Santa Fe and San Francisco, and intimate insight into how one artist explored it–her book will mean even more to you. And, just a tiny bit thicker than an 8 x 10 film holder, it will sit happily in your library–whether leaning against Robert Adams Beauty in Photography at one end, or Weston’s ‘Daybooks’ at the other. And you’ll find that soon it might be as well-worn as your copy of The Americans."
“Making a Photographer: The Early Works of Ansel Adams, by the brilliant @beckysenfccp. This book is a scholarly approach into the early years of Adams' work, and culminates in a discussion of his work for the National Parks. The recounting of the making of Adams’ iconic Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico image of 1941 is nothing short of thrilling. Elegantly designed and printed, and exhaustively researched, this book is a must for anyone interested in the history of American landscape photography. Copublished by @yalebooks in association with @cntrforcreativephoto, where Dr. Rebecca Senf is the chief curator.”
“You really have done something different with Adams and it really resonates with me for a number of reasons. When you read the long passage today about Adams ‘transcendence’ in the High Sierra I closed my eyes and thought of those scenes in my minds eye. Seeing the images of Marion Lake was also powerful. I’ve been there and it’s not an easy place to reach. Adams’ images brought me back and I’m grateful for that.”
— Michael Dawson, Dawson’s Book Shop
“Nearly 40 years after Adams’ rich and storied lifetime ended, we have something remarkable: a fresh perspective on one of America’s most talked-about and well-known photographers. If you have any interest in Ansel Adams, or, more generally, the development of a creative career in photography, you owe it to yourself to make this book a treasured part of your personal library.”
— scott b. davis, photo-eye blog
“Making a Photographer is a long-needed addition to the sparse scholarly research on Ansel Adams. It shares not only the fruits of Senf’s studies but, critically, shares the images that are so important to understanding Ansel’s work…This book isn’t just a book, it isn’t just a resource, it is the foundation upon which all future books on Ansel’s early life and work will rest upon.”
— Darin Boville, A Bigger Camera