Hear Ansel Adams discuss this photo: [399Kb Ulaw Soundfile]
Ansel Adams is celebrated as the most eloquent photographer of the American West. Born in San Francisco in 1902, Adams gave up a promising musical career when he discovered that a photograph could capture the emotion and awe with which he viewed the natural beauty of the world.
Although Adams is best known for his images of grand landscapes, his artistic vision encompassed a wide range of subjects and themes. Ansel Adams's special creativity was in his ability to visualize the combined effect of exposure and development on the final image.
As a writer and a teacher, Adams had a tremendous impact on the history of creative photography; as an ardent environmentalist he helped to preserve much of America's unspoiled wilderness for future generations. Although he received many awards during his lifetime, his most treasured was the Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded by President Carter in 1980.