Alumni J. Dominick Gheesling Headed West for Research

For at least the past decade, J. Dominick Gheesling, an Associate Professor of Art at Valdosta State University, has shown the documentary film Ansel Adams to his introductory photography classes.  As a result of his twenty-nine day photographic expedition on the Suwannee River in 2013, he felt a closer connection to the man and his work than ever before. When showing the film the semester following this expedition, he was particularly moved during the conclusion of the film when Adams dies and one year and one day later the U.S. Geological Survey named a peak in Yosemite, Mt. Ansel Adams. “I had an epiphany during class that day and decided to climb and photograph the mountain where some of Adams’ remains were scattered in order to pay homage to one of the greatest influences on my career and to see with my own eyes the world he so majestically represented in his works”.

Gheesling is planning a twelve day expedition to hike in the Yosemite Wilderness in Late July 2016. He’s launched a Kickstarter campaign in order to defray the cost of expensive photographic tools and to create a series of stunning black & white images of the western landscape to be made available at greatly reduced pricing for donors.

To support this project, please visit Gheesling’s kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/329514896/going-to-the-mountain