LINDA TROELLER   SELF PORTRAIT / SELF REFLECTION     Self-Portrait, Yosemite National Park, Nude in the Landscape Workshop, Ca.1974 The instructors and participants directed me, the workshop model, into the foliage, waters and forests of northern California. The experience made me feel free as an animal in the wild. We were offered clays and paints to experiment with so I put myself in these giant leaves, feeling part of their fullness. That evening, as an assistant, I was to prepare the lecture room for Ansel Adams. I had gotten to know Mirror Lake and Half Dome, Yosemite's main attractions, but had not taken many photographs of the landscape itself. I was mostly shooting one of my fellow models whose body responded to and imitated the shape of a rock formation. Ansel arrived early and remembered me from the cocktail party at his studio. He asked to see my portfolio. All the students carried one with us for such a moment. He studied my portraits of women and told me, "People expect me to admire only a certain aesthetic, but that is not true. I am curious about many ideas. You have a prescient vision unfolding. Stay true to your direction. " Close Window