The Black Sun, Tungsten Hills, Owens Valley, California, plate 7 from Portfolio V

A black sun floats over the landscape of the American West, at once casting light and a sense of foreboding over the landscape. When Adams took this photo in 1939, Tungsten Hills was still home to a major mining operation. Rather than aim his camera at the burgeoning industry nearby, Adams characteristically captures the land’s natural features with dramatic tonal contrast. This image participates in the rhetoric of manifest destiny, and a tradition of depicting U.S. landscapes—particularly in the West—as uninhabited and ripe for development and exploration.