Reynolda House and Modern Automotive Present Black & White Photography Contest as part of Ansel Adams Exhibition

By Staff

Reynolda House Museum of American Art and Modern Automotive are presenting “The Modern Landscape: Black and White Photography Contest,” a competition that celebrates the inspiring beauty of the magnificent American landscape, exemplified by the work of artist-photographer, Ansel Adams. The exhibition “Ansel Adams: Eloquent Light” opens at Reynolda House—its only venue—March 11.

The photography contest is part of Modern Automotive’s major sponsorship of the exhibition.

Entries will be accepted from photographers age 18 and older, and photographs must be at least 300 dpi resolution. Photographs may be of any landscape, in North Carolina or beyond, and entrants may submit one photograph only. Photographs must be emailed to modernlandscape [at] modernauto.com by March 10 to be considered for the contest. (Full contest rules can be found HERE.)

A panel of three judges will select three finalists whose photographs will be posted in multiple venues throughout Winston-Salem for a final popular vote, to take place between April 2 and May 13. Voting locations will be announced at the time finalists are identified.

The overall contest winner will be announced on International Museum Day, Wednesday, May 18, at Reynolda House. Admission to the museum on this day is free for members and up to four guests. Non-members receive one free admission with each paid admission.

The first place winner receives a framed, museum-quality print of their photograph, free admission for one year to Reynolda House Museum of American Art, four free tickets to both the museum’s Summertime Social in June and Harvest Moon Festival in September, and a copy of “American Originals,” the catalog of the museum’s American art collection. Second and third place also will be awarded prizes.

One of the world’s most widely celebrated photographers, Ansel Adams (1902–1984) created uplifting images that deftly illustrate the ideal of a glorious American West before tourism and extensive development marked the land. Inspiring beauty was Adams’s ideal; light was his means. A consummate technician, he took pains to “previsualize” his results at the time he exposed each negative, seeking not to reflect the scenes before his camera as much as his emotional embrace of nature’s magnificence.

The 37 breathtaking photographs by Adams in “Ansel Adams: Eloquent Light” have never been on view together, and Reynolda House is the exhibition’s only venue. The debut of “Ansel Adams: Eloquent Light” in North Carolina coincides with the centennial of the National Park Service, which marks its 100th anniversary in August 2016. The National Parks Conservation Association has joined Reynolda House as the National Outreach Partner for the exhibition.

“Ansel Adams: Eloquent Light” has been organized by the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas. Reynolda House gratefully recognizes the many generous sponsors who helped bring this exhibition to North Carolina, including Major Sponsors Charles H. Babcock, Jr. Arts and Community Initiative Endowment, Jerome and Beverly Jennings, and Modern Automotive; Contributing Sponsor Phoenix Packaging, Inc.; and Exhibition Partners Jeffrey and Sissy Whittington, and the Ecology Wildlife Foundation.

For more information about “Ansel Adams: Eloquent Light” and full contest rules, visit HERE.