Taylor Covert

Period 4

Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams was born on February 20, 1902 in San Francisco California to Charles Hitchcock Adams and Olive Bray Adams. Adams first love was music as he taught himself the piano at age twelve. In 1916 he went to Yosemite National Park with this family for the first time. This is when his father gave him his first camera, and when he took his first pictures. From then on he loved taking pictures of nature and wild life.

Adams was most know for his black and white photos of the American West, especially Yosemite. He was also known for inventing the zone system, which is a way to determine proper exposure and adjust the contrast of the final print. Adams ‘ photographs looked dramatic because of a technique he used called straight photography. This technique is when the clarity of the lens is emphasized, and the final print gives no appearance of being manipulated in the camera or the darkroom. He also used techniques such as burning and dodging, as well as the Zone System to manipulate the tonality and him the ability to create as opposed to record.

Ansel Adams loved nature and lived as an activist to preserve National Parks such as Yosemite. The recognition Ansel Adams got for his pictures was love. People loved his photos of nature, and the Wild America.