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Lasting Light: 125 Years of Grand Canyon Photography

Presented by Museum of History and Art, Ontario at Museum of History and Art, Ontario

July 12-September 23, 2012

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Spectacular Grand Canyon Photography

Explored in New Smithsonian Exhibition



“The Grand Canyon taught me a way of seeing. How to see light and design.”

Featured photographer John Blaustin



The Grand Canyon is one of the most stunning landscapes on Earth. Each year, millions of visitors gaze over the majestic rims, hike rugged trails, and barrel down the Colorado River, and most of them probably have a camera along.

For more than a century, photographers – amateurs and professionals -- have been drawn to the challenge of capturing the infinite sights and moods of the Grand Canyon on film.

Now, the story of the love affair between photographers and the iconic location is beautifully explored in a new exhibition on view at the Museum of History and Art, Ontario, through September 23, 2012: Lasting Light: 125 Years of Grand Canyon Photography.

Created by the Grand Canyon Association and organized for travel by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), the exhibition is a rich, visual celebration that also documents how changes in photographic technology through the years have impacted those trying for the perfect shot.

Juxtaposed against the historic aspects of Grand Canyon photography, Lasting Light’s feast for the visual senses features 60 contemporary color photographs taken during the last quarter century by 26 photographers whose images were selected by a jury of representatives from Eastman Kodak’s Professional Photography Division and National Geographic.

The photographic story revealed in Lasting Light is more than one of mere affection for a subject matter. Given the sometimes dangerous or forbidding geography and weather of the Grand Canyon and the technical limitations of the early equipment, photography over the last 125 years has also been one of dedication and human tenacity, revealing the lengths to which photographers will go to capture their images. As photographers through the years attest, it’s also about patience, stamina and luck.

The pioneering explorers and surveyors who took pictures of the Grand Canyon in the early 1870s, including during John Wesley Powell’s historic survey of the canyon, faced extreme frustrations and hardships, working with cumbersome, dangerous and time-consuming processes and equipment. At the turn of the century, brothers Emery and Ellsworth Kolb set up a studio for tourists on the rim, and made history bringing the Grand Canyon to the masses for the next twenty years, including shooting the first motion picture film there.

Whether dangling from a cable, balancing camera equipment precariously on shoulders, or trying to process glass-plate negatives in a snowstorm, the pioneers produced thousands of enduring images, encouraging generations of photographers to follow in their footsteps, bringing fresh ways of seeing and experiencing the Grand Canyon.

The 60 contemporary, color images featured in Lasting Light date from the 1970s to 2006, and showcase every element of the Grand Canyon, from the sky to the river, and from large scale sweeping landscapes to focused images of a forest floor, a mountain sheep surveying his realm, river rapids or calm blue pools. As awe-inspiring as the photographs are, the accompanying text containing observations by the photographers themselves augment the visual content with fascinating personal context about mood, place, time and feelings.

The biographies of the 26 featured photographers reveal wide and ranging passions, for the outdoors and the environment in general, for travel, for adventure, for river-running, and, of course, for photography, with many award-winners among them. Among the featured photographers is Stephen Trimble, the accomplished photographer and author of the Lasting Light book upon which this exhibition is based.

Lasting Light: 125 years of Grand Canyon Photography is a treasure, a gathering of remarkable work and voices to pay tribute to one of America’s greatest natural wonders.

The Grand Canyon Association is a non-profit, membership organization founded to support education, scientific research and other programs for the benefit of Grand Canyon National Park and its visitors.

SITES has been sharing the wealth of Smithsonian collections and research programs with millions of people outside Washington, D.C. for more than 50 years.