Family Gallery Guide

Positive Shape and Negative Space

Reeds Rock, Sherman Station, 1868

Carmichael’s Cut, Granite Canon, 1868

Castle Rock, Green River Vallery, 1868

For every positive shape in a photograph there is negative space surrounding it. Positive shape is the subject matter of the photograph. Negative space is the area around the subject. Draw a line to match each photograph with its negative space.

1.

2.

3.

A.

B.

C.

Answers: 1. B; 2. C; 3. A

WELCOM

E to the

Special Exhibition galleries!

Use the train icon to help locate the photographs mentioned in this

gallery guide.

Begin your exploration of The Great West Illustrated...Travel to the main level of the Scott Pavilion and look for Gallery 11.If you need help, a Museum officer will be happy to direct you!

A.J. Russell often included a person in his photographs. This helped him show scale, or how large or small objects are in relation to one another

Can you spot a person in this photograph?How does he look compared to the tree?Who took all these photographs, and why?

Meet Mr. Andrew J. Russell. Russell began his career as an artist and commissioned officer in the

Civil War. He was put on special assignment as a photographer for the U.S. Military Railroad.

After the war, he recorded images of the Union Pacific

Railroad as it was being built westward from Omaha, Nebraska. Fifty photographs documenting the construction of the transcontinental

rail line were bound in an album called The Great West Illustrated.

Atmospheric Perspective

Scale

Perspective

Texture

Snow Sheds, C.P.R.R. and Donner Lake, 1869

Weber Valley, from Wilhelmina Pass, 1868

Western Approach to Dale Creek Bridge, 1868

Castle Rock, Green River Valley, 1868

X

Atmospheric perspective is the effect that the atmosphere has on objects in the distance. Like in this photograph, the further away the mountains are, the lighter and less detailed they look.

Look at some other photographs in this exhibition. Can you find some examples of atmospheric perspective?

lighter = further away

Find these photographs:

Another way to show distance is the use of linear perspective. In this case, the way the train tracks are photographed they seem to disappear at the horizon line, or vanishing point (marked with an X).

Can you find other photographs that show distance this way?

Texture refers to the surface quality of the object. Notice how the water looks compared to the grasses around it? Compare the textures in this photograph. How many can you find?

The large cliff in this photograph is called Castle Rock. Do you think it looks like a castle? Why or why not?

A PHOTO FINISH! Take a look at the huge photo mural on the wall of Gallery 11.Considered Russell’s most famous photograph, this image shows workers celebrating the completion of the transcontinental railway.

How would you celebrate such a momumental achievement?