Alex Harris
English 2267 Creative Writing
3/30/2020
The Painting on the Wall
(Ansel Adams Photograph)
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| Ansel Adams - The Tetons and the Snake River |
As a child I like to think that I was particularly imaginative. I could and did spend whole afternoons up in my room, or in my backyard pretending to be on a grand adventure. These adventures were by and large inspired by the books that I had read, the toys that I owned or the movies that I had seen. However, one of the earliest inspirations I can recall is of one of the works of Ansel Adams. This photo hung in my living room for most of my childhood, and I actually thought that it was a painting at first. The idea of such a fantastical place existing in the real world had never occurred to me; I had lived in Central Ohio for most of my childhood and the most mountainous place I had ever been was Lancaster. I had no knowledge of photography as an art form, and just assumed that Adams had created this place from his mind. I remember one day sitting in the living room waiting to go somewhere, when my mother walked into the room. The specifics of how the subject came about have long since faded from my memory, but I remember mentioning how much I liked the “drawing”. My mother was confused about what I was referring to, and when she realized what I was talking about told me that it was actually a photo of a real place.
I was blown away. A place as cool as that could exist in the real world? If that was real what else could be? Did that mean that the story books we read were real too? Looking back on the moment it was ridiculous, the notion of a child. However the sense of wonder I felt still amazes me to this day. Whenever I see a spectacular landscape in the back of my mind I feel this moment, the imagination of a child discovering the world was more spectacular than he could have dreamed.
Alex, for some reason yours appears in just two lines that string all the way across my screen. Can you check it and see if you can fix it? Thanks! Mike
ReplyDeleteYour description of your thoughts behind the photograph of a child was really well done! I loved this exploration of thought, you wrote it in a manner that was very relatable as a person who has also lived in Ohio forever. Nice Work! My only suggestion would be to expand a little more on how your imagination as a child has influenced your life as an adult. How do you use your wild imagination on the daily basis now?
ReplyDeletefrom Ian
ReplyDeleteHi Alex I really liked your writing. I can really relate to the part about being really imaginative as a kid. I spent many hours pretending I was a race car driver while I was riding my bike. I really liked the part about when you found out that picture was real you hoped story books were real. I still wish story books were real sometimes. Maybe include some background information on where that picture is taken. It would be awesome if you could have gone to where that picture was taken and included your emotions of how you felt when you saw it in person. I know that’s hard to do but that would have been awesome. I really enjoyed your essay! - Ian