Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams

Born on the 20th February 1902, in San Francisco and died 82 years later on 22nd April 1984 in Monterey, California. Adams first interest was in music and he was a pianist before he became a photographer and an environmentalist.
Adams came from a conservative family both socially and emotionally causing him to be naturally shy, he had problems fitting in school mostly caused by the events of the earthquake in 1906 which left him with a broken nose which was a distinct feature of his entire life.
He became interested in photography when he first visited Yosemite National Park in 1916. Music influenced Adams photography greatly as it taught him to have substance, discipline, and structure. He loved nature and spent a lot of time exploring his surroundings.
In 1928 he married Virginia Best in Yosemite and had two children, during this time he lived in Yosemite and took many pictures of Yosemite National Park. He was encouraged immensely to pursue photography by Paul Strand, Adams work were based on landscapes and Nature.
Adams invented a method called the zone, which helped him divide the light of a scene into different zones. By doing this it allowed him to separate black and white and blend grey to give him his desired effect on his pictures.