Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams is widely regarded as one of the most famous photographers of all time, particularly in reference to his striking images of the American wilderness. Adams placed great value upon technical mastery of his craft, carefully evaluating gradations of light in the image, manipulating degree of exposure, and constantly experimenting with new techniques. Along with contemporaries Imogen Cunningham and Edward Weston, Adams founded the group f/64, devoted to what they termed "straight photography," as opposed to staged or embellished images. Adams was also pivotal in the establishment of the Department of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art. Ansel Adams (1902-1984) was born in San Francisco four years before the great earthquake of 1906. An aftershock of the earthquake threw him to the ground, breaking his nose and marking him for life. Adams first visited Yosemite in 1916 -- only two years after John Muir's death and three months before the founding of the National Park Service -- and was transfixed by the beautiful valley. In 1919, at age 17, he had his first contact with the Sierra Club when he took a job as custodian of the Club's LeConte Memorial Lodge, the Club headquarters in Yosemite National Park. Adams's interest in photography grew and often brought him up to the mountains accompanied by a mule laden with photographic gear and supplies. He became known as both an artist and defender of Yosemite. In 1934, Adams was elected as a member of the Board of Directors of the Sierra Club, a role he maintained for 37 years In 1968 Adams was awarded the Conservation Service Award, the Interior Department's highest civilian honor, "in recognition of your many years of distinguished work as a photographer, artist, interpreter and conservationist, a role in which your efforts have been of profound importance in the conservation of our great natural resources." In 1980 Adams received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for "his efforts to preserve this country's wild and scenic areas, both on film and on earth. Drawn to the beauty of nature's monuments, he is regarded by environmentalists as a national institution."