Ansel Adams Life and Accomplishments

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Ansel Adams, one of the most well-known landscape photographers, was born on February 20th, 1902 in San Francisco, California. Adams was an only child raised by his parents Charles Hitchcock Adams and Olive Bray, but had a much more influential, supportive, and encouraged relationship with his father. As a child, Adams had issues fitting in with his classmates at school due to his “[n]atural shyness and a certain intensity of genius” as well as having a busted, broken nose due to the fall he had from the aftershock of the earthquake in 1906 (Turnage). Not only did he have issues fitting into school, but he had issues with schooling as well; he had trouble succeeding in the various schools he was sent to which led to him being homeschooled by his aunt and father. Later on in life, he realized that the issues in schooling may have been due to the chance he may have had dyslexia. After much tutoring at home, he earned a “legitimizing diploma from the Mrs. Kate M. Wilkins Private School” which is about “equivalent to having completed the eighth grade” (Turnage). Adams not only was an excellent photographer, but he even taught himself to play the piano and read music at only twelve years old. Not much after teaching himself how to play, he began to take lessons which became a “substitute for formal schooling” for him (Turnage). He spent twelve years of his life committed to the piano and even planned on making it his profession. Although, he ended up giving up on music, playing the piano brought structure and discipline in his life; the training and craft also helped enlighten his artistic vision. His artistic vision was not only enlightened by his practice of the piano, but by his love of nature as well. His love of nature began by ... ... middle of paper ... ...sion of more city-like features like highways and billboards that are not needed. Although he constantly fought for the preservation of nature, he treated people who disagreed with him with “respect and courtesy” (Turnage). He was a man that fought for what he believed in and made a huge difference in the photography field by playing a role in establishing the first photography department in a museum, more specifically the Museum of Modern Art in New York (Turnage). Ansel Adams has changed the vision of landscape photography and will always be known and admired for the work he did. Works Cited Ansel Adams Biography. (n.d.). Biography.com. Retrieved February 15, 2014, from http://www.biography.com/people/ansel-adams-9175697 Turnage, W. (n.d.). Ansel Adams Biography. The Ansel Adams Gallery. Retrieved February 15, 2014, from http://www.anseladams.com/270/

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