Mick Hartley

Photographer Mark Burns has visited all 59 US National Parks as part of the National Parks Photography Project, celebrating the centenary – or, as they say, the centennial – of the National Parks Service, formed in August 1916. There's a gallery of his photos at the Atlantic's In Focus:

"Wotan's Throne Sunset," Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

"Rialto Beach Seastacks," Olympic National Park, Washington

"Zabriskie Point—Manly Beacon Evening Vista," Death Valley National Park

"Bryce Canyon Sunrise—Thor's Hammer," Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

"Joshua Tree at Intersection Rock," Joshua Tree National Park, California

"Schwabacher's Landing—Morning Reflections," Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

"Turret Arch—Morning Sky Contrails," Arches National Park, Utah

"El Capitan Peak," Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas

[All photos © Mark Burns]

The photos are so much in the tradition of Ansel Adams that you wonder how much is conscious homage to the man, and how much is the perception that this classic black and white approach is now the kind of official visual language deemed appropriate for America's majestic landscape.