Ansel Adams became famous for taking large format photographs of the magnificent mountain ranges and deserts of the American west.
Some of his prints sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
George Grant, the official photographer of the National Park Service, shot those same mountains in that same crisp black-and-white. His photos were sometimes mistaken for Adams' work. But Grant didn't become famous for anything, and earned little beyond his modest salary as a government employee.
He captured more than 30,000 frames, but his pictures were generally credited to the National Park Service, and his name rarely appeared next to his work.
Were Grant's pictures as good as Adams'? It's hard to say. But Atlanta writers Ren and Helen Davis think Grant deserves more than a mention in history's index. The two have written the first biography of this pioneering photographer, whose work, shown in brochures and in advertising and on murals, did much to shape America's view of its wild treasures.
They will discuss "Landscapes for the People: George Alexander Grant, First Chief Photographer of the National Park Service" (University of Georgia Press, $39.95) at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30 at the visitor's center, Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield National Park, 900 Kennesaw Mountain Drive, Kennesaw. Free. 770-427-4686, ext. 0, www.nps.gov/kemo/.:
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