Ansel Adams Biography - 1902-1984
A Legend In His Own Time
Ansel Adams: McDonald Lake
Any serious discussion of famous photographers must include excerpts from Ansel Adams biography as well as a sampling of his spectacular prints.
Ansel Adams distinct black and white photographs of Yosemiti National Park and the rugged terrain of the mountainous west have placed him at the epitomy of famous photographers and have made him an American icon.
“When words become unclear I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence”.
Ansel Adams Biography (Wikipedia)
Developing the Photographer
Small Beginnings To Famous Photographer
Yosemite: Not Ansel
Born February 20,1902 in his parent’s home in what is known as the Western Addition of San Francisco, his fascination with photography began when his father gave him a Kodak Brownie Box Camera during his first visit to Yosemeti National Park in 1916.
This was the beginning of a journey of photographic explorations that would place him at the zenith of famous photographers.
He later wrote, “the splendor of Yosemite burst upon us and it was glorious... One wonder after another descended upon us... There was light everywhere... A new era began for me."
Ansel sought light and used it to create heavenly photographs that bring us to our metaphorical knees.(Follow this link for a fascinating discussion of how to use natural light in your photography.)
The picture on the left is a Yosemeti Tourism photo. It is included as part of Ansel Adam biography to demonstrate the unenhanced view of the terrain Ansel loved and photographed.
Ansel was a hyperactive boy who had trouble in school, but as he entered his teens and into his late 20’s he studied, then taught piano, and planned to become a concert pianist.
His interests, however, encompassed all of the arts, and especially photography. No height was too dangerous for him to climb for an artistic view and, hopefully, a stunning photograph. He became so familiar with the high Sierra’s that they became in a sense his backyard, and he became a lifetime member of the Sierra Club from his 17th year.
At 28 he married his longtime sweetheart, Virginia Best whose parents had allowed him the use of their piano. Upon the death of Virginia’s father in 1935, she inherited The Best Studio which she and Ansel operated until 1971.
(CLICK HERE to go to the studio which is still in the Adams family featuring Ansel Adams photographs, more of Ansel Adams biography and the fine art of contemporary photographers.)
Photography and Conservation
From the publishing of his first photographs in 1921 and until his late 70’s he remained active in photography. Ironically because he was such a prolific and famous photographer, his time was increasingly spent processing and cataloging negatives from his vault to feed the growing art museum demand for Ansel Adams prints.
He had also become a proactive conservationist using his prestige as one of America's most famous photographers, and his gift for the right words to advocate for the protection of Yosemite and Big Sur. The “wilderness”, he declared, “is pushed back, man is everywhere. Solitude, so vital to the individual man, is almost nowhere.”
He had also become a proactive conservationist using his prestige as one of America's most famous photographers, and his gift for the right words to advocate for the protection of Yosemite and Big Sur. The “wilderness”, he declared, “is pushed back, man is everywhere. Solitude, so vital to the individual man, is almost nowhere.”
The Department of the Interior
Ansel Adams: The Tetons Snake River
In 1941 he was hired by the Department of the Interior to create photographic murals for the Departments new building. As a result we are privileged that Ansel Adams biography includes many of his prints in the public domain. The Tetons and the Snake River is one example. This queen of the Ansel Adams photographs was one of only 115 images sent into space aboard the Voyager spacecraft. Prints, however, made on his own time such as Moonrise belonged to him. Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico set a record when it sold in 1981 for $71,500.
Dorothea Lange was associated with Ansel Adams for a time. Click Here for information on this famous woman photographer.
Japanese Internment
Ansel Adams: Mazana Relo Center
It is important for an Ansel Adams biography to include his empathetic photojournalism during one of our nation's blackest hours.
Adams was profoundly saddened at the treatment of Japanese American citizens after Pearl Harbor. He received permission to photograph Japanese internment at Manzanar War Relocation Center in California’s Owens Valley at the foot of the Sierra’s.
His photographs were published under the title, Born Free and Equal: The Story of Loyal Japanese-Americans.
Vission, Lights Zones
Ansel Adams: Evening, McDonald Lake
Adams incredible artistic vision and perception of light gave birth to his zone system which he developed in 1941 with Fred Archer. According to the online free encyclopedia, Wikipedia, the zone system “allows photographers to translate light into specific densities on negatives and paper giving better control over finished photographs”. Adams approached Archer about collaborating on a system after reading an article by the other photographer.
Adams ability to visualize the finished photograph led to the development of his Zone System, and his dark-room dodge & burn techniques.
In Looking at Photographs, a photographic Ansel Adams biography (1976 N.Y. Graphics Society Books), John Szarkowski, of the N.Y. Museum of Modern Art wrote , “Ansel Adams attuned himself more precisely than any photographer before him to a visual understanding of the specific quality of the light that fell on a specific place at a specific moment. For Adams the natural landscape is not a fixed and solid sculpture but an insubstantial image, as transient as the light that continually redefines it. This sensibility to the specificity of light was the motive that forced Adams to develop his legendary photographic technique.
Adams’ numerous photography how-to books include the Morgan & Morgan Basic Photo Series (The Camera, The Negative, The Print, Natural Light Photography, and Artificial Light Photography) which have become photography classics.
Follow this link for some of Ansel's favorite photographs. An excellent Teacher's Guide for studying Ansel Adams biography is also included. Click on the photos to enlarge them. Explore this interesting and informative site!
Dramatic Black & White Photographs
Ansel Adams: Mt. Moran
Ansel's dramatic black and white photographs of the natural west made him a famous photographer during his own lifetime: Yosemeti National Park; fog shrouded mountains; mist veiled waterfalls; panoramic vistas; western peaks and prairies. All conjour up images of Ansel Adams’ photographic mastery of light and landscape photography.
An earlier famous photographer who created extensive photographs of Yosemiti in the 1860's and 1870's was Eadweard Muybridge, father of freeze-frame photography.
Prestige, Influence & Awards
Ansel Adams
Ansel's prestige and influence were unprecedented for famous photographers of his era.
Ansel Adams biography was enhanced and his accomplishments reward when was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1966. During the course of his life he received three Guggenheim fellowships. His first, received in 1946, was a mammoth project to photograph every National Park. As a result we have his photographs of Grand Teton and Mt. McKinley, the highest mountain in the United States. In fact his stunning black and white photographs of our national parks actually helped create public awareness of the treasures existing in our parks, and as a result helped to grow the park system.
Adams was commissioned by President Carter to create the first photographic Presidential portrait. In 1980 he was bestowed our highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom given to civilians or military (such as Colin Powell) who have made "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."
A wonderful younger portrait of Ansel Adams with his camera may be found at the Online Archive of California, courtesy of the Portrait File of The Bancroft Library. Click here to view the portrait
A Lasting Legacy
Ansel Adams - Grand Teton
Wikipedia's Ansel Adams biography states that “his lasting legacy includes helping to elevate photography to an art comparable with painting and music, and equally capable of expressing emotion and beauty.”
As he reminded his students, “It is easy to take a photograph, but it is harder to make a masterpiece in photography than in any other art medium."
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The video to the left offers a clear, concise pictorial representation of Ansel's Zone System. PhotoTuts+ has lengthy, informative tutorial on using the Zone System that you may want to also explore. |