Famous Photographers: ANSEL ADAMS 1902-1984A Legend In His Own TimeAny serious discussion of famous photographers must include excerpts from Ansel Adam's 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) CLICK HERE for help shooting snow scenes as a creative photography tool!
DEVELOPING THE PHOTOGRAPHER - Small Beginnings To Famous PhotographerBorn 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."
Yosemeti - Tourism Photo
(Another of the famous photographers is Alfred Eisenstaedt, a father of photojournalism who also received his initial photographic inspiration through the gift of a camera at a young age.)
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.
PHOTOGRAPHY AND CONSERVATIONFrom 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 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
The Tetons, Snake River - Ansel Adams (Public Domain)
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 to have many Ansel Adams 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
He also received permission to photograph Japanese internment at Manzanar War Relocation Center in California’s Owens Valley at the foot of the Sierra’s. Adams was profoundly saddened at the treatment of Japanese American citizens after Pearl Harbor. His photographs were published under the title, Born Free and Equal: The Story of Loyal Japanese-Americans. VISION, LIGHT & ZONES
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. In Looking at Photographs (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.
DRAMATIC BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHS
Mt.Moran - Ansel Adams (Public Domain) His 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 prestige and influence were unprecedented for famous photographers of his era. Adams was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1966, and 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 LASTING LEGACYWikipedia 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."
If you enjoyed this biography, you may want to read about Edward Curtis, a photographer well known for his myriad photographs of Native Americans. CLICK HERE Thank you for visiting Joyful Expressions Famous Photographers. We are continually updating and adding additional photographers and other pages related to photography art to our site. We invite you to return to see what's new, and to add your comments and questions using the form below. Warmly, Beth & Tom Goehringer
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