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Robert Adams: Summer Nights Walking

In the Tyler Green interview with landscape photographer Robert Adams (part 2 of the show) it was interesting to hear his reply to a question on working alone. Tyler had heard from a friend of a friend that Adams wouldn't take a photograph if anyone he knew was hanging around observing him.  Adams explained his wife was the exception, and then went on to talk about one other occasion when he broke this rule, during his night photography project in the 1970s.  He was getting scared out there on his own so hired an art teacher he knew to accompany him - a guy who he knew had been trained as a sniper in the army, (I presume this meant he actually carried a gun) - and it still took them a week to calm down from the jitteriness they both felt.  That anxiety wasn't totally misplaced.  Adams later heard about a triple homicide occuring shortly after at one of the locations they had been working, and around the time of the night they'd been there.

I don't feel so bad now having being creeped out recently taking night photos.  It's OK to be scared.