Ansel Adams - a Notable Creator

Ansel Adams was born in San Francisco, California, to his parents: Charles Hitchcock Adams and Olive Bray Adams. Adams was an only child and grew up in a house in the midst of the Golden Gate. At the age of four, Adams broke his nose from an aftershock of the "great earthquake of 1906"; this distinctly marked him for life. A year later his family's fortune buckled in the "financial panic of 1907". Ansel's father spent the remainder of his life persistently trying to regain their wealth. Ansel's mother spent the majority of her time menacing and fussing over her husband's failure to re-establish the Adams fortune. This left an hesitant impression on her son. Ansel's father; Charles, on the other hand, spent his time influencing, encouraging and supporting his son. A natural shyness and a strength of genius, alongside an "earth quaked" nose brought about Ansel's problems with fitting in at school. Ansel never flourished in the numerous schools in which his parents sent him. As a result, his father and aunt tutored him at home.

The most important result of Ansel's rather isolated childhood was the joy he found from nature. Almost every day Ansel could be found climbing the dunes or exploring Lobos Creek, all the way to Baker Beach. It wasn't until his first visit to Yosemite that nature "transformed and transfixed" him. He spent extensive amounts of time there every year from 1916 until his death in 1984. He began using the Kodak No. 1 Box Brownie that he received from his parents. By hiking, climbing and exploring the Sierra, Ansel gained self-esteem and self- confidence.

In 1919 Ansel became a member of the Sierra Club and spent his first four summers as a "keeper" of the club's LeConte Memorial Lodge (Turnage). The Sierra Club was a critical piece to Ansel's early achievement as a photographer. Ansel's first published photographs materialized in the club's 1922 bulletin. In 1928, Ansel had his first showcase at the San Francisco headquarters.

Nineteen twenty seven was a crucial year of Ansel's life. He made his first visualized photograph (Monolith, the Face of Half Dome) and he also took his first High Trip. The most important event during 1927 was the influence Ansel gained from Albert M. Bender. Bender was a San Francisco insurance entrepreneur, and a benefactor of the arts. After their first meeting, Bender set in motion Ansel's first portfolio. The support Ansel gained from Bender changed his life significantly. Ansel's creative enthusiasm and talents as a photographer flourished. Ansel took several trips to the Southwest to visit with Mary Austin, the grande dame of the western literati (Turnage). Their limited addition book, Taos Pueblo, was published in 1930. Ansel also met photographer Paul Strand in the year 1930. It was Strands images that made an impact on Ansel and helped him shift away from the "pictorial" style that Ansel had favored in the 1920s. It was then that Ansel began to pursue "straight photography." This is where the clarity of the lens was empathized, and the final print did not give the appearance of being manipulated in the camera or the darkroom (Turnage). Ansel was well on his way to becoming the champion of straight photography.

In 1927 Ansel met another photographer, Edward Weston. It was Weston and Adams who founded the renowned Group f/64 in 1932. It was carelessly planned and short-lived; however, Group f/64 brought a new West Coast edition of straight photography to the national level. The San Francisco DeYoung Museum gave f/64 an exhibition and in the same year gave Ansel his very own museum show (Turnage).

Ansel Adams' career rose swiftly in the early 1930s. He acquired his first visit to New York in 1933 to meet photographer Alfred Stieglitz. Even though Ansel was a man of the west, he did spend a considerable amount of time in New York during the 1930s and 1940s. In 1933 the Delphic Gallery gave Ansel his first show in New York. Ansel's first series of technical articles were published in Camera Craft in 1934 and his first book, Making a Photograph, materialized in 1935. It was in 1936 that Stieglitz gave Ansel a one person show at An American Place.

Gaining recognition did not improve Ansel's financial stress. Ansel spent the majority of his time as a commercial photographer. Ansel's clients included: Yosemite concessionaire, National Pak Service, Kodak, Zeiss, IBM, AT&T,