Ansel Adams at the Bellagio through May 11

LAS VEGAS--The beauty of the Bellagio fountains, its lush conservatory and botanical gardens, even Dale Chihuly's art glass fade into the Las Vegas landscape as you step inside Ansel Adams: America, a year-long exhibit of 50 classic photographs on display through May 11 at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art.

Through Adams' lens we see Aspens at Dawn, the Tetons and the Snake River, El Capitan, Moon and Half Dome, Yosemite and more-- in person. The black-and-white images made by the legendary landscape photographer depict America's majestic mountains, canyons and valleys. 

We wonder what Ansel Adams would think of this valley today, where 30,000 to 35,000 new homes each year are quickly climbing the mountains, carving up the earth like some kind of strip mine. As Lake Mead drains to its lowest levels, the growing water shortage hangs over Las Vegas like an impending thunderstorm--if only it would fall. Some say Las Vegas will be "completely developed" by the year 2010. 

We loved listening to the self-guided audio tour and smiled at the humor in some of Adams' own commentary, but the grandeur of these awesome images is best appreciated in complete and utter silence. Like the hush that falls over you when you approach the rim of the Grand Canyon or the tilted, wide-eyed wonder invoked by 300-year-old redwoods, these photographs command your undivided attention.

It was fitting that we stumbled upon this exhibit in its final days. There is a sense of urgency as we walk upon this great, green Earth, and we will need Adams' incredible vision to see it.

I know that I am one with beauty

And that my comrades are one.

Let our souls be mountains,

Let our spirits be stars,

Let our hearts be worlds. 

                                                   From Ansel Adams, An Autobiography
                                                   A mantra of Gaelic origin given to Adams by Ella Young

The Ansel Adams collection, on loan from the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona at Tucson, also includes rare, archival materials, including personal correspondence, camera equipment, light meters and photo logs. For gallery and ticket prices see The Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art web site.

Famous friends: Georgia O'Keeffe, Alfred Stieglitz, Cedric Wright, Edward Weston, Dorothea Lange, Beaumont and Nancy Newhall, David Brower

Avocation: Georgia O'Keeffe once joked that Adams was a better piano player than photographer. He was, in fact, an accomplished musician before he was inspired by a trip to the Sierras to take up photography.

Organizations: Ansel Adams made an indelible imprint on many groups, including the Sierra Club and The Wilderness Society 

Record price paid for an Ansel Adams photograph: $609,600 for Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico

Gather travel corresepondent Lisa Gensheimer is a writer and documentary producer whose work has appeared on public television stations nationwide. She is the author of Pennsylvania Wilds: Images from the Allegheny National Forest, a fine art photography book featuring the work of Ed Bernik.