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a strain on the residence they lived in. Ansel never adapted to school, he was a very shy and made fun of because of his nose. In 1915, his father ended up switching him from public school to privately tutored. Since he had much time on his hands, he enjoyed long walks in the forest and found an interest in piano. Self-taught he learned how to read music and he began to take formal piano lessons. In 1916 he had convinced his parents to take him to Yosemite National Park. While at the national park his parents gifted him his first camera, a Kodak Box Brownie. Pursuing His Carrer In the 1920s he tried to pursue a career as a pianist. He was denied because they said he did not have what it took to become a famous pianist. Ansel believed that he could have the same passion for photography as he did for piano. Ansel connected with his uncle who was a part of the Sierra Club and joined them on one of their wilderness trips. Becoming more interested in the photographic process and realizing that he would never be a concert pianist, Ansel dedicated his life to photography, yet Ansel continued to study and play the piano. The Sierra Club was part of Ansel's early success and became the "keeper" of the Sierra Club's Le Conte Memorial Lodge in the Yosemite Valley. His first published photographs and writings appeared in the Sierra Club's "Bulletin" in 1922. ("Ansel Adams Biography - A Photographer & Environmentalist") In 1926 Adams met Albert Bender. Bender, who became Adams's first sponsor, was well connected within San Francisco's community of writers and artists and he suggested to Adams that he create a marketable portfolio of his mountain pictures. The portfolio of eighteen prints was titled Parimelan Prints of the High Sierras and was printed in an edition of 100. It included Monolith, The Face of the Half Dome, which Adams considered to be his first enormously important photograph. ("Ansel Adams Photography, Bio, Ideas | TheArtStory") Bender had been so invested in Adams's talent that he bought the first ten portfolios for himself and found buyers for the rest. Adams's friendship with Bender would also bring him into contact with other artists and photographers, including the photographer Edward Weston, who he met at Bender's home in 1927. [Last Name] 2 Starting a Family [Last Name] 3 In 1928 Ansel met and married the love of his life Virginia Best who was an aspiring singer and the daughter of a landscape painter called Harry Best. The couple had two children, a girl named Anne and a boy named Michael. Virginia's father owned a gallery in Yosemite, where Adams would go to exhibit his photographs. Virginia, who was like a producer, archivist, and proofreader for her husband, inherited the gallery from her father and the family continued to run the gallery until 1971.They changed the named to Ansel Adams Gallery and is currently in operation today. ("Ansel Adams Photography, Bio, Ideas | TheArtStory") "After Virginia's father's death in 1936 Ansel and Virginia took over the studio in Yosemite but enhanced it with photography supplies and souvenirs." ("Ansel Adams | International Photography Hall of Fame") Another of their many projects and adventures together was making and publishing a children's book. A Change of Perspective Adams first visited Taos, New Mexico in 1930, there he met Paul Strand who was an American Photographer and the man, and his work had a long-lasting effect on Adam's approach to photography. Strand encouraged Adams to change his approach from a soft expression of subjects to a much harder treatment, that was so-called "straight photography." ("Ansel Adams | Encyclopedia.com") This idea was further reinforced by his association with the important, group of photographers known as f/64, The group, formed in 1932, constituted a revolt against the soft-focused, academic photography that was then prevalent among West Coast artists. This group included Edward Weston (1886-1958) and Imogen Cunningham (1883- 1976). This group helped the development of photography as a fine art. Writing of Books and for Magazines During the early 1930s Adams wrote for the magazine called Camera Craft and published the book Making a Photograph in 1935, in which he proved a technical and straightforward way of writing about photography. Making a Photograph was a remarkable success and continued the newly established tradition of the photography manual. Illustrated with high quality reproductions of his photographs, and technical commentary about how to "make" rather than "take" the best photographs. Later, in 1944, the book The American Annual of Photography 1944, Volume Fifty-Eight was published. ("Ansel Adams Photography, Bio, Ideas | The ArtStory") The first essay in the book, also featured examples of his photography. Due to his extensive visits to Yosemite and concern for the environment, Mrs. Johnson asked Adams in 1965 to prepare a book, A More Beautiful America, which would help the improvement of our environment. Other Projects [Last Name] 4 Other projects included being member of the board of directors for the Sierra Club, gallery owner, art critic and author. Adams also helped Beaumont and Nancy Newhall to establish the first department of photography in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Adams worked for the government as the official photographer for the Mural Project, which was to travel the American West and document the Indian reservations and the national parks. In 1934, Adams was elected as a member of the Board of Directors of the Sierra Club, a role he kept for 37 years. His tenure spanned the years that the Club evolved into a powerful national organization that lobbied to create national parks and protect the environment from destructive development projects. One of the books Adam Ansel wrote was called Sierra Nevada: The John Muir Trail, which influenced both Interior Secretary Harold Ickes and President Franklin Roosevelt to embrace the Kings Canyon Park idea. The park was created in 1940. His Last Years In 1968 Adams was awarded with the Conservation Service Award, the Interior Department's highest civilian honor, "in recognition of your many years of distinguished work as a photographer, artist, interpreter and conservationist, a role in which your efforts have been of profound importance in the conservation of our great natural resources." In 1980 Adams received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for "his efforts to preserve this country's wild and scenic areas, both on film and on earth. ("Ansel Adams - History - Sierra Club") Drawn to the beauty of nature's monuments, he is regarded by environmentalists as a national institution." In 1967 he helped set up the Friends of Photography, a group founded to promote photography as a fine art. Adams remained an active member of the Sierra Club until 1971 acting as its president since 1934. "Adams later years were dedicated to teaching and publishing his books." ("Ansel Adams | International Photography Hall of Fame") He produced a whole series of technical books about photography that are still in print and widely bought 50 years after the first publication. In 1980 Adams was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter. The award was in recognition of Adams's contribution to photography and the preservation of Great American landscapes. ("Ansel Adams Photography, Bio, Ideas | TheArtStory") He died on April 22, 1984 from heart failure and was inducted into the Photography Hall of Fame in 1984 based on his passion and dedication to the advancement of the art and science of photography. It is in large part to thank and appreciate Adams for guiding the government to protect these national parks through his photographs. Photographs Sierra Nevada: The John Muir Trail Ansel Adams The Face of the Half Dome, Ansel Adams Bibliography https://vault.sierraclub.org/history/ansel-adams/ https://www.theartstory.org/artist/adams-ansel/life-and-legacy/ https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/ansel-timeline/ https://www.coolantarctica.com/Shop/ansel adams/ansel adams biography.php https://iphf.org/inductees/ansel-adams/ [Last Name] 5 https://www.notablebiographies.com/A-An/Adams-Ansel.html https://www.christies.com/features/Ansel-Adams-10189-3.aspx