John TELFORD

John Telford (American, 1944-2019), Light Reflections, Silver Sands, 1979, gelatin silver print.

American, 1944-2019

Light Reflection, Silver Sands from The Great Salt Lake Portfolio, 1979
Gelatin silver print on paper

  • John Telford attended the University of Utah, where he received his master's in fine arts degree before teaching at Brigham Young University for the majority of his career. 

  • The Great Salt Lake Portfolio is one of Telford's best-known series, which was published with a foreword by Pulitzer Prize winner Wallace Stegner (1909-1993). Stegner was captivated by the series. In an essay called "Xanadu by the Salt Flats" he wrote that Telford's photographs"capture miraculously the moody light and startling contrasts of a lake that belongs on the moon."

John Telford (American, 1944-2019), Pilings, South Shore, 1979, gelatin silver print.

Pilings, South Shore from The Great Salt Lake Portfolio, 1979
Gelatin silver print on paper

  • The Great Salt Lake has long been a site of modern infrastructure and development. As Telford's photographs illustrate, both active and remnant construction lines the lake – including the ghostly pilings that once supported a railroad that cut across from Ogden to the West Desert.

  • What do you think lies outside the frames of these photographs? Why do you think Telford chose these compositions?

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