Skip to main content

Wayne Lambert Pictorial Collection

 Collection
Identifier: PICT-2008-001

Scope and Content

Series 1: Original Accession.

The Wayne Lambert Photograph Collection original accession consists of photographs and negatives of geological formations in New Mexico. These photographs were sponsored by the New Mexico Geological Society 1988 and 1993 Field Conference guide books. Some images were published in New Mexico Magazine and New Mexico Geology. The collection is housed in seven boxes and one oversized folder, organized by medium: prints, negatives, transparencies, manuscripts, and maps. Prints and negatives are housed separately but have corresponding numbers. All of the images in this collection are of geological formations in New Mexico. The map included is published by United States Department of the Interior Geological Survey which includes the New Mexico – Texas El Paso Gap Quadrangle. Wayne Lambert marked on the map where his photo stations are in Brokeoff Mountains. Manuscript material includes Lambert’s descriptions and other information about the photographs as well as biographical material about Lambert. Also included are issues of New Mexico Magazine (1992) and New Mexico Geology (2004, 2005) containing Lambert’s photographs.

Series 2: Addition 2020.

The addition to the collection contains fine art and geological photography mostly in black and white with a small number of color prints and negatives. There is a collection of ethnographic portraits, mainly taken in Mexico, and many images of landscapes throughout New Mexico, Arizona, California, Utah, and Mexico. The landscape photography highlights significant geological formations and waterways.

Lambert originally stored photographic prints in binders and negatives in archival metal edge boxes in plastic sleeves and covered in folded archival paper, and photographs and negatives are arranged chronologically. The organization was maintained for this collection, and the photographic prints were rehoused into archival binders. Collection has a number of 8 x 10 and some 4 x 5 photo negatives. Additional maps were added into the large folder that held one map from the original accession.

Some photography papers related to noteworthy images, ink jet prints, and related coursework have been retained with this collection while other geological and correspondence related information have been archived with the existing manuscript collection for Lambert. There is a significant amount of accompanying information for the prints in the photography papers included in the collection. Contextual information for the photographs Lambert found most noteworthy can be found in separate folders in Box 118, and the notes on other photographs is located in Box 119.

Lambert used a numbering system to label the large majority of his prints. The first two numbers in the label are the year the photo was taken, then "L" for Lambert, and a final one to three-digit number that documents the number of photos taken in each year (i.e. "80L15").

Dates

  • 1969-2013

Creator

Language of Materials

English

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Reproduction and Use Restrictions

Duplication of print and photographic material is allowed for research purposes. User is responsible for copyright compliance. For more information see the Photographs and Images Research Guide and contact the Pictorial Archivist.

Biography

Wayne Lambert (1937-2016) was a Colorado-based photographer who photographed in the Southwest U.S. and Mexico beginning in 1970. He studied with Ansel Adams, Laura Gilpin, Beaumont and Nancy Newhall, Roy Flukinger, and Dick Arentz. Majoring first in photography and later in Southwestern and Mexican geology and geography, his geological training informed his photography. His photographs reflect his interest in formal documentation, and he used large-format cameras and makes contact prints from 4 x 5 and 8 x 10 inch negatives. No digital techniques were used in making the negatives or the prints. In 2004, he began to print in platinum/palladium, a 19th-century printing technique that produces prints that are considered to be the most beautiful and permanent of all black-and-white photographs. His photographs were popular with both private and institutional collectors and portfolios of his work are included in several major southwestern collections.

Lambert taught courses in geology and photography at West Texas State University (now West Texas A&M University) as a tenured professor. His students learned about a variety of photographic film techniques. His interest in both subjects also resulted in a publication on repeat photography, a photographic process used to by geologists to capture changes in the landscape over time.

Source: Wayne Lambert website (no longer available)

See also: Lambert, Wayne. Environmental Geology and Hydrology in New Mexico. Socorro, NM: New Mexico Geological Society, 1981.

Extent

6540 items (122 boxes, 1 folder) : 4500 transparencies, 2000 prints 40 maps

Abstract

The collection consists of photographs of geological formations and fine art photography, including portraits, in the Southwest and Mexico taken by Wayne Lambert. Also includes USGS maps annotated by Lambert and documents related to his photographic work.

Arrangement

Collection reflects Lambert’s original chronologic order and is arranged into two series series: the original accession and the 2020 addition. The original accession contains geological landscape photographs. The 2020 addition is divided into two subseries: photos and negatives created by Lambert and papers. The former includes fine art portraits, as well as landscape photography and photo processing information that Lambert gave to CSWR after his passing. The latter subseries contains coursework, correspondences, and all other papers related to Lambert's photography. Box and folder labels preserve Lambert's identifications and groupings.

Physical Location

B2. Shelved by Pictorial Number. Maps filed in large drawers by Pictorial Number.

Collection Available Online

Images from the Wayne Lambert Photograph Collection are available online via New Mexico's Digital Collections.

Related Archival Material

Wayne Lambert Papers, Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries, University of New Mexico.

United States Soil Conservation Service Region Eight Records, Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries, University of New Mexico.

Eldred R. Harrington Photograph Collection, Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries, University of New Mexico.

Separated Material

Papers unrelated to PICT materials moved to Wayne Lambert Papers (MSS 991 BC).

Processing Information

The original accession was received by CSWR in 2006 and processed in 2008. The pictorial addition was received in 2015 and processed in 2020.
Title
Finding Aid of the Wayne Lambert Pictorial Collection, 1969-2013
Status
Completed
Author
C. Daniel, B. Stein, and Breanna Reiss
Date
© 2011, 2020
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid is in English
Sponsor
Funding provided by: University of New Mexico Center for Regional Studies.

Revision Statements

  • Monday, 20210524: Attribute normal is missing or blank.

Repository Details

Part of the UNM Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections Repository

Contact:
University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections
University Libraries, MSC05 3020
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87131
505-277-6451