trees: a photographic celebration
The Third Annual Bert Szabo Legacy Address
Topic:
2025 is the 50th anniversary of my arrival in Cleveland, Ohio as an English immigrant in June, 1975. It is also my 35th year as a full-time Ohio landscape and nature photographer, writer and educator. During this time I have photographed more trees than any other subject, and later this year I will self-publish a new book, Trees: A Photographic Celebration, featuring about 100 of my favorite tree photographs, many of them taken in Ohio, including images from Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Cleveland and Summit County Metroparks, Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, and The Holden Arboretum. I met Bert Szabo during the late 1970s, and in 1985 Bert hired me to produce seasonal photographs of a woodland scene at Seiberling Naturealm to be used to produce large murals at the new Nature Center, as well as a poster of hikers in Gorge Metropark for the Akron Metropolitan Park District. I will include these images in my program.
I will bring copies of my recent books to share with the GAAS members on May 27, 2025. I have fond memories of Bert Szabo and will share a few of them at the program.
2025 is the 50th anniversary of my arrival in Cleveland, Ohio as an English immigrant in June, 1975. It is also my 35th year as a full-time Ohio landscape and nature photographer, writer and educator. During this time I have photographed more trees than any other subject, and later this year I will self-publish a new book, Trees: A Photographic Celebration, featuring about 100 of my favorite tree photographs, many of them taken in Ohio, including images from Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Cleveland and Summit County Metroparks, Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, and The Holden Arboretum. I met Bert Szabo during the late 1970s, and in 1985 Bert hired me to produce seasonal photographs of a woodland scene at Seiberling Naturealm to be used to produce large murals at the new Nature Center, as well as a poster of hikers in Gorge Metropark for the Akron Metropolitan Park District. I will include these images in my program.
I will bring copies of my recent books to share with the GAAS members on May 27, 2025. I have fond memories of Bert Szabo and will share a few of them at the program.
Biography:
Ian Adams is an environmental photographer, writer and educator specializing in Ohio's natural, rural, historical and garden areas. Twenty-three books of his color photography have been published, including Ohio: A Bicentennial Portrait, Our First Family’s Home: The Ohio Governor’s Residence & Heritage Garden, Backroads of Ohio, The Floridas, and Cuyahoga Valley National Park. A Photographer’s Guide to Ohio was released by Ohio University Press in June, 2011. Volume 2 of A Photographer's Guide to Ohio was published in May, 2015, followed by a centennial edition of Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, which was released by the University of Akron Press in June, 2015. His latest book, This Place of Silence: Ohio’s Cemeteries & Burial Grounds, co-photographed with Randall Schieber, with text by Robin Smith, was released by Ohio University Press in Summer, 2024. Ian has produced more than sixty Ohio calendars and conducted more than 200 seminars and workshops in nature, garden, and digital photography throughout North America. He was an adjunct professor at Ohio State University’s Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster, Ohio where he taught digital photography from 2010 to 2019. He shares his home in Cuyahoga Falls with two cats, Spicer and Maddie, and an assortment of cameras.
Ian Adams is an environmental photographer, writer and educator specializing in Ohio's natural, rural, historical and garden areas. Twenty-three books of his color photography have been published, including Ohio: A Bicentennial Portrait, Our First Family’s Home: The Ohio Governor’s Residence & Heritage Garden, Backroads of Ohio, The Floridas, and Cuyahoga Valley National Park. A Photographer’s Guide to Ohio was released by Ohio University Press in June, 2011. Volume 2 of A Photographer's Guide to Ohio was published in May, 2015, followed by a centennial edition of Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, which was released by the University of Akron Press in June, 2015. His latest book, This Place of Silence: Ohio’s Cemeteries & Burial Grounds, co-photographed with Randall Schieber, with text by Robin Smith, was released by Ohio University Press in Summer, 2024. Ian has produced more than sixty Ohio calendars and conducted more than 200 seminars and workshops in nature, garden, and digital photography throughout North America. He was an adjunct professor at Ohio State University’s Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster, Ohio where he taught digital photography from 2010 to 2019. He shares his home in Cuyahoga Falls with two cats, Spicer and Maddie, and an assortment of cameras.
Bert Szabo and His Legacy
Bert was appointed the first chief naturalist at the Akron Metropolitan Park District, precursor to Summit Metro Parks, in 1963. He helped get the first Fall Hiking Spree started in 1964 and connected people to the parks for over 30 years, as a naturalist and as an engaged volunteer. He was instrumental in getting the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area (later designated as a National Park in 2000) established in 1974. He served on the boards of numerous conservation organizations and had a natural curiosity and fascination with nature.
An avid birder, he served for over 20 years as Christmas Bird Count compiler for Greater Akron Audubon Society. He ended his career in 1991, with the following statement in Green Islands Newsletter (now Magazine): |
Bertalan Louis Szabo 1920 – 2022
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“The pollution of our planet, the loss of forests, plants and animals must be our major concern. They are biological time clocks ticking off the time when man may no longer persevere. We cannot separate natural history from human history -- each is dependent upon the other. Protecting our environment is essential for the health and welfare of future generations. It is my hope that I have contributed somewhat to this endeavor.”