In the 1950s, photographer Tad Nichols shot iconic images of Glen Canyon before the damming of the Colorado River. He died in 2000 but his photos remain the definitive account of the landscape now submerged by Lake Powell.
Recently though as the lake's levels have dropped Flagstaff photographer Dawn Kish ventured into the reemerging canyon to shoot it again with Nichols’ own camera. A new exhibit features her images of Glen Canyon alongside his original work.
“Glen Canyon Exposed: Now and Then” on display through April at the John Wesley Powell River History Museum in Green River, Utah.
Ryan Heinsius: Why was it important to document Glen Canyon now in this sort of comparative style?
Dawn Kish: Yeah. Curiosity: like, what is Glen Canyon? We don’t know. It was covered up. It was buried. I heard it was really beautiful at one time. And I’ve always been inspired by Tad Nichols’ work. When he published his book in 1999 (“Images of a Lost World”), when I saw those photos that he had done, I was like, “What is this place?” I couldn’t believe it. And I never thought I would see Glen Canyon in my life, in my lifetime.
So, when I heard the lake levels dropped, I had to go. I had to go document what was going on. So yeah, curiosity and a sense of adventure and the love of photography and the love for the land. I had to just—I had to go.
RH: And I think for a lot of us who didn’t experience Glen Canyon as an actual thing, as this sort of mythologized landscape, did it become more real to you as you shot these photos and sort of moved through the process of this what was a years-long effort, right?
DK: Yeah, I was just mesmerized. This place was beautiful. I couldn’t believe it. I was like, “Wait, why did we do? What’s going on?” I couldn’t believe it, what had happened. And yes, Lake Powell is beautiful. I’m not going to deny it. It is beautiful if you like lakes and reservoirs. But I prefer rivers and canyons.
And if you can imagine what was below the lake, it just blew my mind what little tiny things, little glimpses that I was getting. I couldn’t wait to go back and keep documenting that. It just, it drew me in, and it’s calling me still today.
RH: Did you have, like, a sense of déjà vu when you were shooting any of these landscapes using this very camera and walking in Tad Nichols’ footsteps?
DK: So yeah, I, I just kept asking Tad, “What do I do? Where do I go? Is this where I need to be?” Like, I was kind of trying to channel him. I was like, “Yeah, let’s try and figure out what he would possibly do with this camera.”
So, I was pretty honored to receive this camera and go back to a place that this camera documented in the 1950s before, before the dam.
RH: Obviously, the threats to Glen Canyon, the Colorado River and water in the Southwest are numerous: drought, overuse, climate change. You know, from that perspective, what are you hoping to achieve with this project?
DK: So, art influences many, right? A lot of people can relate to art more than stats and figures. And I just noticed that I can do something with my art and to influence people, inspire people.
Thomas Moran was an amazing painter. His paintings of Grand Canyon actually made sure that Congress was for the national park. And then Grand Canyon became a national park because of his giant painting. So, wow, if art can do that—if art can inspire people to save our beautiful places, that’s my goal.
I don’t have much else to offer besides photography and film, so that’s going to be my contribution to inspire people to save our beautiful places for sure.
RH: Well, Dawn, thank you so much for talking with me today. It was a pleasure.
DK: Yeah, thank you. It was a pleasure telling the story.
