February 20 – Happy Birthday, Ansel Adams

nPostednon February 20, 2015

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Inbet that, at some time, somewhere, you have seen an Ansel Adamsnphotograph. n

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nMaybenon a poster. Or a calendar. Printed on a T-shirt or mug or greetingncard.

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nHe’snTHAT ubiquitous. (Which is a way of saying that his photos can benseen everywhere.)

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Self-portrait of Ansel Adams

nBornnin San Francisco, California, on this date in 1902, Adams was luckynenough to be a part of a well educated and well-to-do family. Henloved nature and explored the out-of-doors, collecting bugs, checkingnout sea cliffs and shipwrecks, and star watching with his dad using ansmall telescope.

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nWencould say that Adams was “homeschooled” starting at age 12, sincenhe was so restless and inattentive that he was kicked out of severalnprivate schools; his dad brought him home to learn from familynmembers and tutors. He learned a lot about Robert Ingersollnand Ralph Waldo Emerson,nwho were amazing thinkers and writers.

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nItnwas at that time that Adams became interested in music, especiallynthe piano. He studied music for 12 years and intended to become anprofessional musician, but he had another developing passion, as welln– which was birthed at age 14 when his family went to YosemitenNational Park.

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Henlater remembered that “thensplendor of Yosemite burst upon us and it was glorious…nOne wonder after another descended upon us… There was lightneverywhere… A new era began for me.”

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nAdams’snfather gave him his first camera on that trip. He returned the nextnyear with a better camera and a tripod. He began to learn darkroomntechnique and started working for a photo finisher, readingnphotography magazines, attending camera club meetings, going tonphotography exhibits. n

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nHenalso started hiking and exploring (and of course photographing) thenHigh Sierra, and at age 17 he joined the Sierra Club, a groupndedicated to the conservation of the Sierras and other wild places.nHe was hired as a caretaker of the Sierra Club visitor center innYosemite Valley, and he took over a gallery in Yosemite Valley withnhis work. n

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nSo,nwith all that hiking and photography, and all of that conserving andnphotography, Adams soon found his music practice pushed into thenbackground, and photography became front-and-center.

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DuringnAdams’s 20s, many photographers were trying to elevate photographynto the same level of respect in the art world as painting. Some photographers experimented with effects that madentheir photographs look more like paintings, including hand coloring thenblack and white prints.

nAdams did not go that route.

nInstead, henconcentrated on keeping his photos realistic, keeping them black andnwhite, but using sharp focus, strong contrast, and the exact rightnamount of exposure to create beautiful prints.

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nAdamsndid experiment with color film, but he didn’t like it as well becausenhe had learned so well how to control black and white photography.