Ansel Adams
"You don't take a photograph, you make it."
American Photographer and Environmentalist
Born on February 20, 1902 in Western Addition, San Francisco, California
Died age 82, April 22, 1984 in Monterey California
Known for his black and white landscape photos of the American West
Most popular photo of Yosemite National Park
His photos are still widely produced in calendars, posters, and in books
Has an Honorary Doctorate from Harvard University, and a honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Yale
Some of Ansel Adams Well Known Pieces
Mount McKinley and Wonder Lake, Denali
The Tetons and the Snake River
Rose and Driftwood
Education and Family Background
When Ansel was four, he was thrown into a wall by an aftershock of the San Francisco earthquake, and broke his nose. The doctors told him to get his nose reset once he was older but he chose to live with a crooked nose.
His Trademark
What made him famous?
What did he have to say about his work?
"Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer and often the supreme disappointment."
"It is my intention to present through the medium of photography-intuitive observations of the natural world which may have meaning to the spectators."
"A good photograph is knowing where to stand."
"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration."
What did others have to say about his work?
"The love that Americans poured out for the work and person of Ansel Adams during his old age, and that they have continued to express with undiminished enthusiasm since his death, is an extraordinary phenomenon, perhaps even unparalleled in our country's response to a visual artist."
-John Szarkowski
"His photographs are like portraits of the giant peaks which seem to be inhabited by mythical gods."
-Washington Post
"I always enjoy seeing one of his books or an exhibit not just for these icons but to absorb the range of his vision-still-still life imagery, inclusive portraits, details of nature as well as grand landscapes. As I imagine it is for many of us, his images are burned into my memory."
-William Neill