Look: National Parks

A Poster for Every Park

In the summer of 1979 Robert Decker (Comm’84) studied under Ansel Adams in Yosemite National Park. The life-changing experience united his emerging love of photography with his awe of America’s wild places.

Since then Decker, a graphic artist in Nederland, Colo., has photographed more than half of the 59 major National Parks, from Haleakala in Hawaii to Acadia in Maine.

A few years ago, while designing Colorado-themed posters and postcards for daughter Alexandra Decker’s (Fin’11) wedding, he perfected a process he’d worked on for more than a decade: Finishing original photographs in a style reminiscent of the Works Progress Administration posters of the 1930s and ’40s.

His goal is to create WPA-style posters for all 59 parks before the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary in 2016. As of July he’d made posters for 21 parks.

“I hope to generate awareness, not only of the grandeur of these amazing places, but also for their continued protection and operation,” says Decker. “Everyone…should have a chance to enjoy [them].”

Find the current collection of national park posters at www.national-park-posters.com.