Glowing Aspens, Castle Creek Valley, Colorado 1991

About John Sexton

John Sexton is perhaps the most widely known contemporary black and white landscape photographer and educator. He was an assistant of Ansel Adams for many years, and his work, in high demand, demonstrates the technical and artistic expertise that one would expect from such an association. John's work has a very distinctive feel and is immediately recognizable, for he has clearly stepped out of the shadow of his mentor and established a worldwide reputation.

John Sexton was born in 1953, and resides in Carmel Valley, California. Respected as a photographer, master printmaker, and workshop instructor, he is best known for his luminous, quiet photographs of the natural environment. Recently, he has been exploring the aesthetics of humankind's technology, from ancient Anasazi sites in the Southwestern United States to the Space Shuttle. This work is included in his book entitled Places of Power.

His photographs are included in permanent collections, exhibitions, and publications throughout the world. His work has been featured on CBS "Sunday Morning" show with Charles Kuralt, and on the MacNeil Leher News Hour. In 1993, his photographs were used in national advertising campaigns by Bank of America and General Motors. Sexton's photographs have been featured in numerous publications including: Time, Life, American Photo, Aspen, Backpacker, Photo Techniques, Darkroom Photography, Popular Photography, Zoom, High Country News, Outdoor Photographer, Outside, TWA Ambassador, Southern Accents and View Camera.

He is the Director of the John Sexton photography Workshop program, and teaches numerous photography workshops each year for other programs in the United States and abroad, emphasizing printing technique and mastery of the Zone System. These other programs include: Anderson Ranch Arts Center, The Ansel Adams Gallery Workshops, The Friends of Photography, Maine Photographic Workshops, and the Palm Beach Workshops. His informed and entertaining lectures for photographic and professional organizations, colleges and universities discuss the aesthetic and technical aspects of fine black and white photography. He has presented lectures for, among others, Boston University, George Eastman House, The Friends of Photography, Los Angeles, County Museum of Art, Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego, and the Seattle Art Museum.

Currently a consultant to Eastman Kodak Company and other photographic manufacturers, he worked as both Technical and Photographic Assistant, and then Technical Consultant to Ansel Adams from 1979 to 1984. He continues to serve as Photographic Special Projects Consultant to the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust. From 1985 to 1993, he was a member of the Board of Trustees of The Friends of Photography.

About the Image

As many know, most of my prints are issued as non-numbered open editions, but over the years I have offered a small number of limited edition prints.

My new limited edition print is Glowing Aspens, Castle Creek Valley, Colorado, and is being released as part of my ongoing Darkroom Edition series. This image was made following one of my annual two-week workshops that I taught at Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colorado. During the workshop I always led a field session to this beautiful aspen grove in Castle Creek Valley, one of my favorite stands of aspens. I have included an excerpt from a brief essay which I dictated one afternoon as I was walking through this stand of aspens. The essay is titled "Within the Forest" and is the Preface in my book "Listen to the Trees."

Forests are sanctuaries. This aspen forest is like a room, with luminous white trunks for walls. I find myself looking upward to the green leaves quaking in the wind... toward the ceiling of thunderclouds passing by. In the distance thunder rolls through the valley... the sound of birds singing within the forest mingles with the remote whisper of a creek as it rushes over the rocks in its path. The forest creates an envelope like a protective cocoon. I feel at one with the trees, more comfortable among hundreds of them than in a group of people.

The print Glowing Aspens, Castle Creek Valley, Colorado is printed on Ilford Warmtone fiber-base photographic paper. The print is offered in a Limited Edition of 75 signed and numbered silver gelatin prints, plus 10 Artist's Proofs. The print is approximately 10-1/4 x 13-1/4", personally printed by me (as are all my prints), processed to current archival standards, numbered, signed, mounted, and overmatted to 16x20" on 100 percent rag museum board. 

This negative has been retired by John for traditional silver printing, and will never again be printed in any size as a silver gelatin print. Once the small number of remaining prints are gone there will be no additional silver gelatin prints available for sale.

Ordering Information

Special orders from the artist may take up to 6 weeks for delivery. 

Please contact us at info@anseladams.com if you have any questions about shipping and delivery.