Editing Ansel Adams

{{Short description|American photographer and environmentalist (1902–1984)}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox artist
| image       = Ansel Adams and camera.jpg
| alt         = A photo of a bearded Ansel Adams with a camera on a tripod and a light meter in his hand. Adams is wearing a dark jacket and a white shirt, and the open shirt collar is spread over the lapel of his jacket. He is holding a cable release for the camera, and there is a rocky hillside behind him. The photo was taken by J. Malcolm Greany and first appeared in the 1950 Yosemite Field School Yearbook.
| caption     = Adams {{circa|1950}}
| birth_name  = Ansel Easton Adams
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1902|2|20}}
| birth_place = [[San Francisco]], [[California]], U.S.
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|1984|4|22|1902|2|20}}
| death_place = [[Monterey, California]], U.S.
| resting_place = Ashes placed on the summit of Mount Ansel Adams in California's Ansel Adams Wilderness area<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mills |first1=Don |title=A developing art form |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/330658421 |url-access=subscription |work=[[National Post]] |date=November 21, 2006 |page=B1 |id={{ProQuest|330658421}} |quote=After his death, Congress designated a vast acreage beside Yosemite as the Ansel Adams Wilderness Area and named Mount Ansel Adams, on whose summit his ashes were placed. |access-date=June 22, 2023 |archive-date=November 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231104152536/https://www.proquest.com/docview/330658421 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| known_for   = Photography and conservationism
| movement    = [[Group f/64]]
| spouse      = {{Marriage|Virginia Rose Best|1928|<!--Do not put "his death" per template instructions-->}}
| awards      = {{awards|[[Presidential Medal of Freedom]]|1980}}
| elected     = Board of Directors, [[Sierra Club]]
| patrons     = [[Albert M. Bender]]
| memorials   = {{ubl|[[Ansel Adams Wilderness]]|[[Mount Ansel Adams]]}}
| website     = {{ubl|{{URL|anseladams.org}}|{{URL|anseladams.com}}}}
}}

'''Ansel Easton Adams''' (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American [[landscape photographer]] and environmentalist known for his [[Monochrome photography|black-and-white images]] of the [[American West]]. He helped found [[Group f/64]], an association of photographers advocating "pure" photography which favored [[Deep focus|sharp focus]] and the use of the full [[Dynamic range#Photography|tonal range of a photograph]]. He and [[Fred R. Archer|Fred Archer]] developed a system of image-making called the [[Zone System]], a method of achieving a desired final print through a technical understanding of how the tonal range of an image is the result of choices made in [[Exposure (photography)|exposure]], [[Negative (photography)|negative]] development, and [[Photographic printing|printing]].

Adams was a life-long advocate for [[Nature conservation|environmental conservation]], and his photographic practice was deeply entwined with this advocacy. At age 14, he was given his first camera during his first visit to [[Yosemite National Park]]. He developed his early photographic work as a member of the [[Sierra Club]]. He was later contracted with the [[United States Department of the Interior]] to make photographs of national parks. For his work and his persistent advocacy, which helped expand the National Park system, he was awarded the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] in 1980.

In the founding and establishment of the photography department at the [[Museum of Modern Art]] in New York, an important landmark in securing photography's institutional legitimacy, Adams was a key advisor. He assisted the staging of that department's first photography exhibition, helped to found the photography magazine [[Aperture (magazine)|''Aperture'']], and co-founded the [[Center for Creative Photography]] at the [[University of Arizona]].

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==Early life==
===Birth===
Adams was born in the [[Fillmore District, San Francisco|Fillmore District of San Francisco]], the only child of Charles Hitchcock Adams and Olive Bray. He was named after his uncle, Ansel Easton. His mother's family came from [[Baltimore]], where his maternal grandfather had a successful freight-hauling business but lost his wealth investing in failed mining and real estate ventures in Nevada.{{Sfn |Adams|Alinder|1985| p = 4}} The Adams family came from New England, having migrated from the north of Ireland during the early 19th century. His paternal grandfather founded a very prosperous lumber business that his father later managed. Later in life, Adams condemned the industry his grandfather worked in for cutting down many of the [[Sequoia sempervirens|redwood forests]].{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 4}}

===Early childhood===
One of Adams's earliest memories was watching the smoke from the fires caused by the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake]]. Then four years old, Adams was uninjured in the initial shaking but was tossed face-first into a garden wall during an [[aftershock]] three hours later, breaking and scarring his nose. A doctor recommended that his nose be reset once he reached maturity, but it remained crooked and necessitated [[mouth breathing]] for the rest of his life.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 2}}<ref name="Sierra Club 2008a">{{cite web | author = Sierra Club | year = 2008 | url = http://www.sierraclub.org/history/anseladams/ | title = Ansel Adams and the Sierra Club: About Ansel Adams | publisher = Sierra Club | access-date = February 2, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100201212325/http://www.sierraclub.org/history/anseladams/ | archive-date = February 1, 2010 | url-status = dead}}</ref>

In 1907, his family moved {{convert|2|mi|km|0}} west to a new home near the [[Sea Cliff, San Francisco|Seacliff]] neighborhood of San Francisco, just south of the [[Presidio of San Francisco|Presidio Army Base]].<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/ansel-adams-boyhood-san-francisco-house-3201869.php | title = Ansel Adams' boyhood San Francisco house | last = Whittington | first = Geoff | date = January 24, 2010 | work = San Francisco Chronicle | access-date = April 20, 2010 | location = San Francisco, CA | archive-date = May 5, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100505195553/http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-01-24/real-estate/17835300_1_ansel-adams-bath-yosemite-national-park | url-status = live }}</ref> The home had a "splendid view" of the [[Golden Gate]] and the [[Marin Headlands]].{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 6}}

Adams was a [[Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder#ADHD-PH|hyperactive]] child and prone to frequent sickness and [[Hypochondriasis|hypochondria]]. He had few friends, but his family home and surroundings on the heights facing the Golden Gate provided ample childhood activities. He had little patience for games or sports; but he enjoyed the [[Nature#Aesthetics and beauty|beauty of nature]] from an early age, collecting bugs and exploring [[Lobos Creek]] all the way to [[Baker Beach]] and the sea cliffs leading to [[Lands End, San Francisco|Lands End]],{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 6}}{{Sfn |Adams|Alinder|1985| p = 14}} "San Francisco's wildest and rockiest coast, a place strewn with shipwrecks and rife with landslides."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://parksconservancy.org/visit/park-sites/lands-end.html | title = Lands End | publisher = Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy | access-date = April 19, 2010 | location = San Francisco, CA | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100412105138/http://www.parksconservancy.org/visit/park-sites/lands-end.html | archive-date = April 12, 2010 | url-status = live}}</ref>

===Early education===
Adams's father had a three-inch telescope, and they enthusiastically shared the hobby of astronomy, visiting the [[Lick Observatory]] on [[Mount Hamilton (California)|Mount Hamilton]] together. His father later served as the paid secretary-treasurer of the [[Astronomical Society of the Pacific]], from 1925 to 1950.<ref>{{cite journal | title = In Memoriam, Charles Hitchcock Adams 1868–1951 | last = Aitken | first = R. G. | year = 1951 | journal = Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific | volume = 63 | issue = 375 | pages = 284–286 | bibcode = 1951PASP...63..283A | doi = 10.1086/126396| s2cid = 123406530 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

Charles Adams's business suffered large financial losses after the death of his father in the aftermath of the [[Panic of 1907]]. Some of the loss was due to his uncle Ansel Easton and [[Cedric Wright]]'s father George secretly having sold their shares of the company, "knowingly providing the controlling interest" to the [[Big Five (Hawaii)|Hawaiian Sugar Trust]] for a large amount of money.{{Sfn |Adams|Alinder|1985| p = 40}} By 1912, the family's [[standard of living]] had dropped sharply.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 9}}

Adams was dismissed from several private schools for being restless and inattentive, so when he was 12, his father decided to remove him from school. For the next two years he was educated by private tutors, his aunt Mary, and his father. Mary was a devotee of [[Robert G. Ingersoll]], a 19th-century agnostic and [[women's suffrage]] advocate, so Ingersoll's teachings were important to his upbringing.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 11}} During the [[Panama–Pacific International Exposition]] in 1915, his father insisted that he spend part of each day studying the exhibits as part of his education.{{Sfn |Adams|Alinder|1985| p = 18}} He eventually resumed, and completed, his formal education by attending the Mrs. Kate M. Wilkins Private School, graduating from the eighth grade on June 8, 1917. During his later years, he displayed his diploma in the guest bathroom of his home.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 276}}

His father raised him to follow the ideas of [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]]: to live a modest, moral life guided by a social responsibility to man and nature.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 11}} Adams had a loving relationship with his father, but he had a distant relationship with his mother, who did not approve of his interest in photography.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 52}} The day after her death in 1950, Ansel had a dispute with the undertaker when choosing the casket in which to bury her. He chose the cheapest in the room, a $260 coffin that seemed the least he could purchase without doing the job himself. The undertaker remarked, "Have you no respect for the dead?" Adams replied, "One more crack like that and I will take Mama elsewhere."{{Sfn |Adams|Alinder|1985| p = 45}}

===Youth===

Adams became interested in playing the piano at age 12 after hearing his 16-year-old neighbor [[Henry Cowell]] play on the Adams' piano, and he taught himself to play and read music.<ref name="Turnage 2018">{{Cite journal | last = Turnage | first = William A. | author-link = William Turnage | title = Adams, Ansel (1902–1984), photographer and environmentalist | journal = American National Biography | volume = 1 | doi = 10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1701243 | year = 2000}}</ref> Cowell, who later became a well-known avant-garde composer, gave Adams some lessons.{{sfn|Hammond|Adams|2002|p=3}} Over the next decade,{{sfn|Hammond|Adams|2002|p=4}} three music teachers pushed him to develop technique and discipline, and he became determined to pursue a career as a classical pianist.{{Sfn|Alinder|1996|p=11}}

[[File:Photography during the First World War MH29845 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Kodak Brownie|Kodak No 1 Brownie Model B box camera]], the first camera that Adams was given at age 14 while on a family trip to [[Yosemite National Park]], California in 1916{{Sfn |Adams|Alinder|1985| p = 53}}]]

Adams first visited Yosemite National Park in 1916 with his family.<ref>{{cite book | last = Stillman | first = Andrea G. | title = 400 Photographs | publisher = Little, Brown | year = 2007 | location = New York City | page = 12 | isbn = 978-0-316-11772-2}}</ref> He wrote of his first view of the valley: "the splendor of Yosemite burst upon us and it ''was'' glorious.... One wonder after another descended upon us.... There was light everywhere.... A new era began for me." His father gave him his first camera during that stay, an [[Eastman Kodak]] [[Brownie (camera)|Brownie box camera]], and he took his first photographs with his "usual hyperactive enthusiasm".{{Sfn |Adams|Alinder|1985| p = 53}} He returned to Yosemite on his own the next year with better cameras and a tripod. During the winters of 1917 and 1918, he learned basic darkroom technique while working part-time for a San Francisco photograph finisher.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 36}}

Adams contracted the Spanish flu during the [[1918 flu pandemic]], from which he needed several weeks to recuperate. He read a book about lepers and became obsessed with cleanliness; he was afraid to touch anything without immediately washing his hands afterwards. Over the objections of his doctor, he prevailed on his parents to take him back to Yosemite, and the visit cured him of his disease and compulsions.{{sfn|Adams|Alinder|1985|pp=54–55}}

Adams avidly read photography magazines, attended camera club meetings, and went to photography and art exhibits. He explored the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|High Sierra]] during summer and winter with retired geologist and amateur ornithologist Francis Holman, whom he called "Uncle Frank". Holman taught him camping and climbing; however, their shared ignorance of safe climbing techniques such as [[belaying]] almost led to disaster on more than one occasion.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 23}}

[[File:Best studio Yosemite 1920s.gif|thumb|Harry Best standing in front of his studio, {{circa}} 1922–1925<ref>{{cite web | title = Ansel Adams Gallery Rehabilitation | url = https://www.nps.gov/yose/getinvolved/adams_gallery.htm | website = Yosemite National Park | publisher = U. S. National Park Service | access-date = March 5, 2019 | archive-date = March 6, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190306043616/https://www.nps.gov/yose/getinvolved/adams_gallery.htm | url-status = live }}</ref>]]

While in Yosemite, Adams had need of a piano to practice on. A ranger introduced him to landscape painter Harry Best, who kept a studio home in Yosemite and lived there during the summers. Best allowed Adams to practice on his old [[square piano]]. Adams grew interested in Best's daughter Virginia and later married her.{{sfn|Spaulding|1998|pp=42–43}} On her father's death in 1936, Virginia inherited the studio and continued to operate it until 1971. The studio is now known as the Ansel Adams Gallery and remains owned by the Adams family.<ref>{{cite web | title = Gallery History | url = http://anseladams.com/ansel-adams-gallery-in-yosemite/gallery-history/ | publisher = Ansel Adams Gallery | access-date = March 1, 2019 | archive-date = March 2, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190302090843/http://anseladams.com/ansel-adams-gallery-in-yosemite/gallery-history/ | url-status = live }}</ref>

===Sierra Club and piano work===
At age 17, Adams joined the Sierra Club,<ref name="Sierra Club 2010">{{cite web | url = http://www.sierraclub.org/education/leconte/history.asp | title = Environmental Education – LeConte Memorial Lodge | publisher = Sierra Club | access-date = April 19, 2010 | location = San Francisco, CA | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100304081218/http://www.sierraclub.org/education/leconte/history.asp | archive-date = March 4, 2010 | url-status = live}}</ref> a group dedicated to protecting the wild places of the earth, and he was hired as the summer caretaker of the Sierra Club visitor facility in Yosemite Valley, the [[LeConte Memorial Lodge]], from 1920 to 1923.<ref name="Sierra Club 2010" /> He remained a member throughout his lifetime and served as a director, as did his wife. He was first elected to the Sierra Club's board of directors in 1934 and served on the board for 37 years.<ref name="Sierra Club 2008a" /> Adams participated in the club's annual [[High Trips]], later becoming assistant manager and official photographer for the trips.<ref name="Sierra Club 2008a" /> He is credited with several [[first ascent]]s in the Sierra Nevada.<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Secor | first1 = R. J. | title = The High Sierra: Peaks, Passes, Trails | date = 2009 | publisher = The Mountaineers Books | isbn = 978-1-59485-481-1 | pages = 377, 409, 414}}</ref>

During his twenties, most of his friends had musical associations, particularly violinist and amateur photographer [[Cedric Wright]], who became his best friend as well as his philosophical and cultural mentor. Their shared philosophy was from [[Edward Carpenter]]'s ''Towards Democracy'', a literary work which endorsed the pursuit of beauty in life and art. For several years, Adams carried a pocket edition with him while at Yosemite;{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 47}} and it became his personal philosophy as well. He later stated, "I believe in beauty. I believe in stones and water, air and soil, people and their future and their fate."{{Sfn |Adams|Alinder|1985| p = 9}}

During summer, Adams would enjoy a life of hiking, camping, and photographing; and the rest of the year he worked to improve his piano playing, perfecting his piano technique and musical expression. He also gave piano lessons for extra income that allowed him to purchase a grand piano suitable to his musical ambitions.{{Sfn |Adams|Alinder|1985| p = 27}} Adams was still planning a career in music. He felt that his small hands limited his repertoire,{{Sfn |Adams|Alinder|1985| p = 28}} but qualified judges considered him a gifted pianist.<ref name="Szarkowski 2018">{{Cite encyclopedia | url = https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ansel-Adams-American-photographer | title = Ansel Adams {{!}} American photographer|last=Szarkowski|first=John|date=April 15, 2018|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=November 27, 2018}}</ref> However, when he formed the Milanvi Trio with a violinist and a dancer, he proved a poor accompanist.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 48}} It took seven more years for him to conclude that, at best, he might become only a concert pianist of limited range, an accompanist, or a piano teacher.{{Sfn |Adams|Alinder|1985| p = 27}}

==Photographic career==
===1920s===
====Pictorialism====
[[File:Lodgepole Pines photo by Ansel Adams.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Lodgepole Pines, Lyell Fork of the Merced River]], Yosemite National Park'' (1921)<ref>{{cite web | title = Lodgepole Pines, Lyell Fork of the Merced River, Yosemite National Park | url = https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/262583 | website = The Met | publisher = The Metropolitan Museum of Art | access-date = March 5, 2019 | archive-date = March 6, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044636/https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/262583 | url-status = live }}</ref>]]

Adams's first photographs were published in 1921, and Best's Studio began selling his Yosemite prints the next year. His early photos already showed careful composition and sensitivity to tonal balance. In letters and cards to family, he wrote of having dared to climb to the best viewpoints and to brave the worst elements.{{Sfn |Alinder|Stillman|Adams|Stegner|1988|p=3}}

During the mid-1920s, the fashion in photography was [[pictorialism]], which strove to imitate paintings with soft focus, diffused light, and other techniques.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p=32}} Adams experimented with such techniques, as well as the [[Oil print process#Bromoil process|bromoil process]], which involved brushing an oily ink onto the paper.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p=33}} An example is ''[[Lodgepole Pines, Lyell Fork of the Merced River]], Yosemite National Park'' (originally named ''Tamarack Pine''), taken in 1921. Adams used a soft-focus lens, "capturing a glowing luminosity that captured the mood of a magical summer afternoon".{{sfn|Alinder|1996|loc=Chapter 4}}

For a short time Adams used hand-coloring, but declared in 1923 that he would do this no longer.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| pp=34–35}} By 1925 he had rejected pictorialism altogether for a more realistic approach that relied on sharp focus, heightened contrast, precise exposure, and darkroom craftsmanship.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| pp = 38–42}}
{{clear}}

====''Monolith''====
[[File:Ansel-adams-monolith-the-face-of-half-dome - edit1.jpg|thumb|''[[Monolith, the Face of Half Dome]], Yosemite National Park, California'' (1927)<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/262595 | title = Monolith, the Face of Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California | website = The Metropolitan Museum of Art | access-date = March 5, 2019 | archive-date = March 6, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190306062114/https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/262595 | url-status = live }}</ref>]]

In 1927, Adams began working with [[Albert M. Bender]], a San Francisco insurance magnate and arts patron. Bender helped Adams produce his first portfolio in his new style, ''[[Parmelian Prints of the High Sierras]]'', which included his famous image ''[[Monolith, the Face of Half Dome]]'', which was taken with his Korona [[view camera]], using glass plates and a dark red filter (to heighten the tonal contrasts). On that excursion, he had only one plate left, and he "visualized" the effect of the blackened sky before risking the last image. He later said, "I had been able to realize a desired image: not the way the subject appeared in reality but how it ''felt'' to me and how it must appear in the finished print."{{Sfn |Adams|Alinder|1985|p=76}} One biographer calls ''Monolith'' Adams's most significant photograph because the "extreme manipulation of tonal values" was a departure from all previous photography. Adams's concept of visualization, which he first defined in print in 1934, became a core principle in his photography.{{sfn|Alinder|1996|p=53}}

Adams's first portfolio was a success, earning nearly $3,900 with the sponsorship and promotion of Bender. Soon he received commercial assignments to photograph the wealthy patrons who bought his portfolio.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996|p=62}} He also began to understand how important it was that his carefully crafted photos were reproduced to best effect. At Bender's invitation, he joined the [[Roxburghe Club]], an association devoted to fine printing and high standards in book arts. He learned much about printing techniques, inks, design, and layout, which he later applied to other projects.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996|p=68}}

Adams married Virginia Best in 1928, after a pause from 1925 to 1926 during which he had brief relationships with various women. The newlyweds moved in with his parents to save expenses.{{sfn|Alinder|1996|pp=48, 56}} The following year, they had a home built next door and connected it to the older house by a hallway.<ref name="Bevk 2013">{{cite news | last1 = Bevk | first1 = Alex | title = Ansel Adams' Childhood Home Hidden in Sea Cliff | url = https://sf.curbed.com/2013/9/23/10195118/ansel-adams-childhood-home-hidden-in-sea-cliff | access-date = March 3, 2019 | work = Curbed San Francisco | date = September 9, 2013}}</ref>

===1930s===
====Pure photography====
[[File:Ansel Adams-Half Dome, Apple Orchard, Yosemite.jpg|thumb|An apple orchard at [[Yosemite National Park|Yosemite]]'s [[Half Dome]] (1931)]]
[[File:Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-E23 levels adj.jpg|thumb|alt=A black-and-white close-up photograph of palmate, conifer, and small fern-like leaves overlapping, all visibly damp. One slightly larger and brighter palmate leaf rests in the upper foreground, covering all but one third of the photograph.|Close-up of leaves ''In Glacier National Park'' (1942)<ref name="National Archives 2017">{{cite web | title = Records of the National Park Service | url = https://www.archives.gov/research/ansel-adams | website = Ansel Adams Photographs | publisher = National Archives | date = June 26, 2017 | access-date = February 28, 2019 | archive-date = November 13, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181113025711/https://www.archives.gov/research/ansel-adams | url-status = live }}</ref>]]

Between 1929 and 1942, Adams's work matured, and he became more established. The 1930s were a particularly experimental and productive time for him. He expanded the technical range of his works, emphasizing detailed close-ups as well as large forms, from mountains to factories.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/24185/ansel-adams-at-the-phoenix-art-museum/ | title = Ansel Adams at the Phoenix Art Museum | work = Art+Auction | year = 2006 | access-date = November 29, 2006 | archive-date = September 30, 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230930083635/http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/24185/ansel-adams-at-the-phoenix-art-museum/ | url-status = live }}</ref>

Bender took Adams on visits to [[Taos, New Mexico]], where Adams met and made friends with the poet [[Robinson Jeffers]], artists [[John Marin]] and [[Georgia O'Keeffe]], and photographer [[Paul Strand]].<ref name="Russell 1984">{{Cite news | issn = 0362-4331 | last = Russell | first = John | title = Ansel Adams, Photographer, Is Dead | work = The New York Times | access-date = July 30, 2018 | date = April 24, 1984 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/24/obituaries/ansel-adams-photographer-is-dead.html | archive-date = November 27, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181127110227/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/24/obituaries/ansel-adams-photographer-is-dead.html | url-status = live }}</ref> His talkative, high-spirited nature combined with his excellent piano playing made him popular among his artist friends.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| pp = 73–74}} His first book, ''[[Taos Pueblo (book)|Taos Pueblo]]'', was published in 1930 with text by writer [[Mary Hunter Austin]].<ref name="Russell 1984" />

Strand proved especially influential. Adams was impressed by the simplicity and detail of Strand's negatives, which showed a style that ran counter to the soft-focus, impressionistic pictorialism still popular at the time.<ref name="Morgan 2018" /><ref>{{Cite book | title = Who's Who in the Twentieth Century | date = 2003 | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 978-0-19-280091-6 | chapter = Adams, Ansel Easton | access-date = November 26, 2018 | chapter-url = http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780192800916.001.0001/acref-9780192800916-e-8 | doi = 10.1093/acref/9780192800916.001.0001 | url = https://archive.org/details/whoswhointwentie00brig }}</ref> Strand shared secrets of his technique with Adams and convinced him to pursue photography fully.{{sfn|Spaulding|1998|p=82}} One of Strand's suggestions that Adams adopted was to use glossy paper to intensify tonal values.{{sfn|Alinder|1996|p=68}}

Adams put on his first solo museum exhibition, ''Pictorial Photographs of the Sierra Nevada Mountains by Ansel Adams'', at the [[Smithsonian Institution]] in 1931; it featured 60 prints taken in the High Sierra and the [[Canadian Rockies]]. He received a favorable review from the ''Washington Post'': "His photographs are like portraits of the giant peaks, which seem to be inhabited by mythical gods."{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 77}}

Despite his success, Adams felt that he was not yet up to the standards of Strand. He decided to broaden his subject matter to include still life and close-up photos and to achieve higher quality by "visualizing" each image before taking it. He emphasized the use of small apertures and long exposures in natural light, which created sharp details with a wide range of distances in focus, as demonstrated in ''Rose and Driftwood'' (1933),<ref>[https://www.artic.edu/artworks/82469/rose-and-driftwood-san-francisco-california Print of ''Rose and Driftwood, San Francisco, California''] in the collection of the [[Art Institute of Chicago]] (Ref. nr. 1954.1338).</ref> one of his finest still-life photographs.{{sfn|Alinder|1996|pp=67–69}}

In 1932, Adams had a group show at the [[M. H. de Young Museum]] with [[Imogen Cunningham]] and [[Edward Weston]], and they soon formed Group f/64 which espoused "pure or [[straight photography]]" over pictorialism ({{f/|64|link=yes}} being a very small [[aperture]] setting that gives great [[depth of field]]). The group's manifesto stated: "Pure photography is defined as possessing no qualities of technique, composition or idea, derivative of any other art form."{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 87}}

Imitating the example of photographer [[Alfred Stieglitz]], Adams opened his own art and photography gallery in San Francisco in 1933.{{Sfn |Adams|Alinder|1985| p = 115}} He also began to publish essays in photography magazines and wrote his first instructional book, ''Making a Photograph'', in 1935.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 114}}

====Sierra Nevada====

[[File:"Coloseum Mountain, Kings River Canyon (Proposed as a national park)," California, 1936., ca. 1936 - NARA - 519933.tif|thumb|''[[Colosseum Mountain|Coloseum Mountain]], [[Kings Canyon National Park|Kings River Canyon]], California'' (1936)]]

During the summers, Adams often participated in Sierra Club High Trips outings, as a paid photographer for the group; and the rest of the year a core group of Club members socialized regularly in San Francisco and Berkeley. In 1933, his first child Michael was born, followed by Anne two years later.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 102}}

During the 1930s, Adams began to deploy his photographs in the cause of wilderness preservation. He was inspired partly by the increasing incursion into Yosemite Valley of commercial development, including a pool hall, bowling alley, golf course, shops, and automobile traffic. He created the limited-edition book ''Sierra Nevada: The John Muir Trail'' in 1938, as part of the Sierra Club's efforts to secure the designation of [[Kings Canyon National Park|Kings Canyon]] as a national park. This book and his testimony before Congress played a vital role in the success of that effort, and Congress designated Kings Canyon as a national park in 1940.<ref name="Sierra Club">{{cite web | title = Ansel Adams – History | url = http://vault.sierraclub.org/history/ansel-adams/ | publisher = Sierra Club | access-date = March 4, 2019 | archive-date = March 1, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190301140708/http://vault.sierraclub.org/history/ansel-adams/ | url-status = dead }}</ref>{{sfn|Alinder|1996|loc=Chapter 7}}

In 1935, Adams created many new photographs of the Sierra Nevada; and one of his most famous, ''[[Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park|Clearing Winter Storm]]'',<ref>[https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/a-grand-vision-the-david-h-arrington-collection-of-ansel-adams-masterworks/clearing-winter-storm-yosemite-national-park Print of ''Clearing Winter Storm''] on auction in December 2020 at Sotheby's, where another print dated 1938 was sold in 2005 (no page for this auction – see text). Before this print came to knowledge, the picture was thought to have been taken ca. 1942 –1944. An early [https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2008/photographs-n08424/lot.142.html print from around 1938], which was sold in 2008, shows a still warmer tone than later prints.</ref> depicted the entire [[Yosemite Valley]], just as a winter storm abated, leaving a fresh coat of snow. He gathered his recent work and had a solo show at Stieglitz's "An American Place" gallery in New York in 1936. The exhibition proved successful with both the critics and the buying public, and earned Adams strong praise from the revered Stieglitz.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 120}} The following year, the negative for ''Clearing Winter Storm'' was almost destroyed when the darkroom in Yosemite caught fire. With the help of Edward Weston and [[Charis Wilson]] (Weston's future wife), Adams put out the fire, but thousands of negatives, including hundreds that had never been printed, were lost.{{sfn|Alinder|1996|pp=123–124}}<ref>{{cite news | last1 = Fraser | first1 = Christa | title = Fire on the Mountain{{snd}}Ansel Adams and Edward Weston in Yosemite in the late 1930s | url = http://adventuresportsjournal.com/fire-on-the-mountain-ansel-adams-and-edward-weston-in-yosemite-in-the-late-1930s/ | access-date = March 2, 2019 | work = Adventure Sports Journal | date = October 21, 2009 | archive-date = March 6, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044409/http://adventuresportsjournal.com/fire-on-the-mountain-ansel-adams-and-edward-weston-in-yosemite-in-the-late-1930s/ | url-status = live }}</ref>{{NoteTag|In 2010, Rick Norsigian bought some glass negatives at a garage sale and claimed they were some of the lost negatives, estimating their value at $200 million.<ref>{{cite news | last1 = Staff writer | title = Ansel Adams Pics Bought for $45 Worth $200M? | url = https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ansel-adams-pics-bought-for-45-worth-200m/ | access-date = March 2, 2019 | work = CBS News | date = July 27, 2010 | archive-date = March 6, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190306042727/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ansel-adams-pics-bought-for-45-worth-200m/ | url-status = live }}</ref> The Ansel Adams Foundation contested this claim and sued. A settlement was reached in 2011 where Norsegian could sell prints without any reference to Adams.<ref>{{cite news | last = Harmanci | first = Reyhan | title = Ansel Adams Lawsuit: An Agreement Is Reached | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/arts/design/ansel-adams-lawsuit-an-agreement-is-reached.html | access-date = March 2, 2019 | work = The New York Times | date = March 15, 2011 | archive-date = March 6, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190306042748/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/arts/design/ansel-adams-lawsuit-an-agreement-is-reached.html | url-status = live }}</ref>}}

====Desert Southwest====

[[File:Georgia O'Keeffe and Orville Cox, 1937.jpg|thumb|''[[Georgia O'Keeffe]] and Orville Cox, [[Canyon de Chelly National Monument]], Arizona'' (1937)<ref>{{cite web | last1 = Adams | first1 = Ansel Easton | title = Georgia O'Keeffe and Orville Cox, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona, 1937, printed 1974 | url = https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/262584 | publisher = The Metropolitan Museum of Ar | access-date = February 28, 2019 | archive-date = March 1, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190301074428/https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/262584 | url-status = live }}</ref> |alt=A black and white photograph shows Georgia O'Keeffe and Orville Cox wearing hats with the sky and clouds behind them.]]

In 1937, Adams, O'Keeffe, and friends organized a month-long camping trip in Arizona, with Orville Cox, the head wrangler at [[Ghost Ranch]], as their guide. Both artists created new work during this trip. Adams made a candid portrait of O'Keeffe with Cox on the rim of [[Canyon de Chelly]]. Adams once remarked, "Some of my best photographs have been made in and on the rim of [that] canyon."<ref name="Bohnacker 2013">{{cite magazine | last = Bohnacker | first = Siobhán | date = December 16, 2013 | title = Picture Desk: The Faraway | url = https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/picture-desk-the-faraway | magazine = The New Yorker | access-date = May 29, 2018 | archive-date = June 12, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180612112948/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/picture-desk-the-faraway | url-status = live }}</ref> Their works set in the desert Southwest are often published and exhibited together.<ref name="Bohnacker 2013" />

During the rest of the 1930s, Adams took on many commercial assignments to supplement the income from the struggling Best's Studio. He depended on such assignments financially until the 1970s. Some of his clients included Kodak, ''Fortune'' magazine, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, AT&T, and the American Trust Company.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 158}} He photographed [[Timothy L. Pflueger]]'s new Patent Leather Bar for the [[St. Francis Hotel]] in 1939.<ref>{{cite news | last = Hamlin | first = Jesse | date = December 20, 2003 | title = Raise a toast to Ansel Adams. Sure, he was known for landscapes, but there was more to his portfolio, as these bar photos show | newspaper = San Francisco Chronicle | url = http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Raise-a-toast-to-Ansel-Adams-Sure-he-was-known-2545562.php | access-date = January 20, 2012 | archive-date = October 8, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121008151358/http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Raise-a-toast-to-Ansel-Adams-Sure-he-was-known-2545562.php | url-status = live }}</ref> The same year, he was named an editor of ''[[U.S. Camera & Travel]]'', the most popular photography magazine at that time.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 158}}
{{clear}}

===1940s===
[[File:Ansel Adams - Personnel File Photograph - NARA.jpg|thumb|Adams {{circa|1941}}<ref>{{cite archive | last = U.S. Civil Service Commission. | item = Adams, Ansel File for 23 Alphabetical Park Service | item-url = https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7582611 | item-id = 7582611 | date = November 3, 1941 | fonds =  | series = Official Personnel File of Ansel E. Adams, October 6, 1941 – October 12, 1943 | file =  | box =  | collection = Record Group 146: Records of the U.S. Civil Service Commission, 1871–2001 | collection-url = https://catalog.archives.gov/id/475 | repository =  | institution = National Archives at College Park | accession =}}</ref>|alt=]]

In 1940, Adams created ''A Pageant of Photography'', the largest and most important photography show in the West to date, attended by millions of visitors.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 159}} With his wife, Adams completed a children's book and the very successful ''Illustrated Guide to Yosemite Valley'' during 1940 and 1941. He also taught photography by giving workshops in Detroit. Adams also began his first serious stint of teaching, which included the training of military photographers, in 1941 at the Art Center School of Los Angeles, now known as the [[Art Center College of Design]].{{Sfn |Adams|Alinder|1985| p = 312}}

====Mural Project====
In 1941, Adams contracted with the [[National Park Service]] to make photographs of National Parks, Indian reservations, and other locations managed by the department, for use as mural-sized prints to decorate the department's new building.<ref>{{Cite web|date=August 15, 2016|title=Ansel Adams Photographs|url=https://www.archives.gov/research/ansel-adams|access-date=June 15, 2020|website=National Archives|language=en|archive-date=November 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113025711/https://www.archives.gov/research/ansel-adams|url-status=live}}</ref> The contract was for 180 days. Adams set off on a road trip with his friend Cedric and his son Michael, intending to combine work on the "Mural Project" with commissions for the U.S. Potash Company and Standard Oil, with some days reserved for personal work.{{sfn|Alinder|1996|loc=Chapter 13}}
{{-}}

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-T02.jpg
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-J02.jpg
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-E09.jpg
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AAB-02.jpg
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-P05.jpg
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-M17.jpg
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-H03.jpg
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-G03.jpg
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-Q04.jpg
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-N04.jpg
Photograph of Old Faithful Geyser Erupting in Yellowstone National Park - NARA - 519994.jpg
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-W15.jpg
Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-Q01 restored.jpg
</gallery>

====''Moonrise''====
[[File:Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico.jpg|thumb|''[[Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico]]'' (1941)]]
While in New Mexico for the project, Adams photographed a scene of the Moon rising above a modest village with snow-covered mountains in the background, under a dominating black sky. The photograph is one of his most famous and is named ''[[Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico]]''. Adams's description in his later books of how it was made probably enhanced the photograph's fame: the light on the crosses in the foreground was rapidly fading, and he could not find his exposure meter; however, he remembered the [[luminance]] of the Moon and used it to calculate the proper exposure.<ref>{{cite book | last = Adams | first = Ansel | title = The Negative | publisher = Little Brown | location = Boston | year = 1981 | isbn = 978-0-8212-1131-1 | page = [https://archive.org/details/negative00adam/page/127 127]}}</ref>{{sfn|Adams|Alinder|1985|pp=40–43, 273–275}}{{NoteTag|Adams's first account in ''U.S. Camera 1943 annual'' was less dramatic, saying simply that the photograph was made after sunset, with exposure determined using his Weston Master meter,<ref>{{cite book | first = T.J. | last = Maloney | title = U.S. Camera 1943 ''annual'' | year = 1942 | publisher = Duell, Sloan & Pearce | location = New York | pages = 88–89}}</ref> though {{Harvnb|Alinder|1996|p=192}}, states that the image caption for ''Moonrise'' in ''U.S. Camera 1943'' was inaccurate, citing several discrepancies among technical details.}} In the resulting negative the foreground was underexposed, the highlights in the clouds were quite dense, and the negative proved difficult to print.{{sfn |Adams|Alinder|1985|p = 42}} The initial publication of ''Moonrise'' was in ''U.S. Camera 1943'' annual, after being selected by the "photo judge" for ''U.S. Camera'', [[Edward Steichen]].{{sfn|Alinder|1996|p = 192}} This gave ''Moonrise'' an audience before its first formal exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1944.<ref>See master checklist (Pdf) for {{cite web|publisher=The Museum of Modern Art |date=2024 |title=''Art in Progress: 15th Anniversary Exhibitions: Photography,'' May 24–Sep 17, 1944 |access-date=2024-09-20 |url=https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/3386?}}</ref>{{sfn|Alinder|1996|p=193}}

Over nearly 40 years, Adams re-interpreted the image, his most popular by far,{{Sfn |Adams|Alinder|1985| p = 275}} using the latest darkroom equipment at his disposal, making over 1,369 unique prints, mostly in 16" by 20" format.<ref>{{cite web | author = Andrew Smith Gallery | publisher = Andrew Smith Gallery | url = http://www.andrewsmithgallery.com/exhibitions/anseladams/arrington/ | title = 5 prints of "Moonrise", 1941–1975 | access-date = November 9, 2010 | archive-date = July 7, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110707143556/http://www.andrewsmithgallery.com/exhibitions/anseladams/arrington/ | url-status = live }}</ref> Many of the prints were made during the 1970s, with their sale finally giving Adams financial independence from commercial projects. The total value of these original prints exceeds $25,000,000;{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| pp = 189–199}} the highest price paid for a single print of ''Moonrise'' reached $609,600 at a 2006 Sotheby's auction in New York.<ref>{{cite news | title = Art Market Watch – artnet Magazine | url = http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/news/artmarketwatch/artmarketwatch10-27-06.asp | access-date = March 4, 2019 | work = artnet.com | date = October 27, 2006 | archive-date = July 30, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180730140403/http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/news/artmarketwatch/artmarketwatch10-27-06.asp | url-status = live }}</ref>

The Mural Project ended on June 30, 1942; and because of the World War, the murals were never created. Adams sent a total of 225 small prints to the DOI, but held on to the 229 negatives. These include many famous images such as ''[[The Tetons and the Snake River]]''. Although they were legally the property of the U.S. Government, he knew that the National Archives did not take proper care of photographic material, and used various subterfuges to evade queries.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996|loc=Chapter 13}}

The ownership of one image in particular has attracted interest: ''Moonrise''. Although Adams kept meticulous records of his travel and expenses,<ref>{{cite book | first1 = Peter | last1 = Wright | last2 = Armor | first2 = John | title = The Mural Project | publisher = Reverie Press | location = Santa Barbara | year = 1988 | isbn = 978-1-55824-162-6 | page = vi | url = https://archive.org/details/muralproject0000adam }}</ref> he was less disciplined about recording the dates of his images, and he neglected to note the date of ''Moonrise''. But the position of the Moon allowed the image to be eventually dated from astronomical calculations, and in 1991 Dennis di&nbsp;Cicco of ''[[Sky & Telescope]]'' determined that ''Moonrise'' was made on November 1, 1941.{{NoteTag|David Elmore of the High Altitude Observatory in Boulder, Colorado, had determined that ''Moonrise'' was taken on October 31, 1941, at 4:03&nbsp;pm.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Callahan | first = Sean | year = 1981 | issue = January 1981 | title = Short Takes: Countdown to Moonrise | journal = American Photographer | pages = 30–31}}</ref> Di&nbsp;Cicco noticed that the Moon's position at the time Elmore made his determination did not match the Moon's position in the image, and after an independent analysis, determined the time to be 4:49:20&nbsp;pm on November 1, 1941. He reviewed his results with Elmore, who agreed with di&nbsp;Cicco's conclusions.<ref>{{cite journal | last = di Cicco | first = Dennis | year = 1991 | title = Dating Ansel Adams' Moonrise | journal = Sky & Telescope | volume = 82 | issue = November 1991 | bibcode = 1991S&T....82..529D | pages = 529–533}}</ref>}} Since this was a day for which he had not billed the department, the image belonged to Adams.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 201}}

====World War II====
[[File:Ansel Adams - Farm workers and Mt. Williamson.jpg|thumb|''Farm, farm workers, [[Mount Williamson|Mt. Williamson]] in background, Manzanar Relocation Center, California'' (1943)<ref>{{cite web | last = Adams | first = Ansel | title = Farm, farm workers, Mt. Williamson in background, Manzanar Relocation Center, California | url = http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/manz/item/2002695990/ | website = Ansel Adams's Photographs of Japanese-American Internment at Manzanar | publisher = Library of Congress | access-date = February 28, 2019 | year = 1943 | archive-date = September 11, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180911192333/http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/manz/item/2002695990/ | url-status = live }}</ref>|alt=A black-and-white photograph shows farm workers with Mt. Williamson in background.]]
[[File:Baton-practice-Manzanar-Adams.jpeg|thumb|''Baton practice, Florence Kuwata, [[Manzanar War Relocation Center|Manzanar Relocation Center]]'' (1943)<ref>{{cite archive | last = U.S. Civil Service Commission. | item = Baton practice, Florence Kuwata, Manzanar Relocation Center | item-url = http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2001704608/ | item-id = LC-A35-5-M-34 | year = 1943 | fonds =  | file =  | box =  | collection = Ansel Adams's Photographs of Japanese-American Internment at Manzanar | collection-url = http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/manz/ | repository =  | institution = Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division | accession =}}</ref>|alt=A black-and-white photography shows a smiling woman from below twirling batons with the sun behind her.]]

When Edward Steichen formed his [[Naval Aviation Photographic Unit]] in early 1942, he wanted Adams to be a member, to build and direct a state-of-the-art darkroom and laboratory in Washington, D.C.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 172}} Around February 1942, Steichen asked Adams to join him in the navy.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 172}} Adams agreed, but with two conditions: He wanted to be commissioned as an officer, and he would not be available until July 1.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 173}} Steichen, who wanted the team assembled as quickly as possible, passed on Adams and had his other photographers ready by early April.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 173}}

Adams was distressed by the [[Japanese American internment]] that occurred after the [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor]] attack. He requested permission to visit the Manzanar War Relocation Center in the [[Owens Valley]], at the base of [[Mount Williamson]]. The resulting photo-essay first appeared in a Museum of Modern Art exhibit, and later was published as ''[[Born Free and Equal]]: The Story of Loyal Japanese-Americans''. Upon its release, "[the book] was met with some distressing resistance and was rejected by many as disloyal."{{Sfn |Adams|Alinder|1985| p = 263}} This work was a significant departure, stylistically and philosophically, from the work for which Adams is generally known.{{Sfn | O'Toole|2010|p = 24}} He also contributed to the war effort by doing many photographic assignments for the military, including making prints of secret Japanese installations in the Aleutians.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996|p = 175}}

In 1943, Adams had a camera platform mounted on his station wagon, to afford him a better vantage point over the immediate foreground and a better angle for expansive backgrounds. Most of his landscapes from that time forward were made from the roof of his car rather than from summits reached by rugged hiking, as in his earlier days.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 239}}

Adams was the recipient of three [[Guggenheim Fellowship]]s during his career, the first being awarded in 1946 to photograph every national park.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 217}} At that time, there were 28 national parks, and Adams photographed 27 of them, missing only [[Everglades National Park]] in Florida. This series of photographs produced memorable images of [[Old Faithful]] Geyser, [[Grand Teton]], and [[Mount McKinley]].

In 1945, Adams was asked to form the first fine art photography department at the [[San Francisco Art Institute|California School of Fine Arts]]. Adams invited [[Dorothea Lange]], Imogen Cunningham, and Edward Weston to be guest lecturers, and [[Minor White]] to be the principal instructor.<ref>{{cite web | last = Mix | first = Robert | url = http://www.verlang.com/sfbay0004ref_timeline_05.html | title = SF Bay Area Timeline: Modernism (1930–1960) | publisher = Vernacular Language North | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120524094806/http://www.verlang.com/sfbay0004ref_timeline_05.html | archive-date = May 24, 2012 | access-date = November 7, 2008 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = SFAI History | url = https://www.sfai.edu/about-sfai/sfai-history | publisher = San Francisco Art Institute | access-date = March 5, 2019 | archive-date = March 5, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190305213609/https://sfai.edu/about-sfai/sfai-history | url-status = live }}</ref> The photography department produced numerous notable photographers, including [[Philip Hyde (photographer)|Philip Hyde]], [[Benjamen Chinn]], and [[William Heick|Bill Heick]].<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Comer | first1 = Stephanie | last2 = Klochko | first2 = Deborah | last3 = Gunderson | first3 = Jeff | title = The moment of seeing : Minor White at the California School of Fine Arts | date = 2006 | publisher = Chronicle Books | isbn = 978-0-8118-5468-9 | page = 202}}</ref>

===1950s===
In 1952 Adams was one of the founders of the magazine ''Aperture'', which was intended as a serious journal of photography, displaying its best practitioners and newest innovations. He was also a contributor to ''[[Arizona Highways]]'', a photo-rich travel magazine. His article on ''[[Mission San Xavier del Bac]]'', with text by longtime friend [[Nancy Newhall]], was enlarged into a book published in 1954. This was the first of many collaborations with her.{{Sfn |Alinder|1996|loc=Chapter 13}}

In June 1955, Adams began his annual workshops at Yosemite. They continued to 1981, attracting thousands of students.{{Sfn |Adams|Alinder|1985| p = 316}} He continued with commercial assignments for another twenty years, and became a consultant, with a monthly retainer, for [[Polaroid Corporation]], which was founded by good friend [[Edwin Land]].{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 260}} He made thousands of photographs with Polaroid products, ''El Capitan, Winter, Sunrise'' (1968) being the one he considered most memorable. During the final twenty years of his life, the 6x6&nbsp;cm medium format [[Hasselblad]] was his camera of choice, with ''Moon and Half Dome'' (1960) being his favorite photograph made with that brand of camera.{{Sfn |Adams|Alinder|1985| p = 375}}

From 1957 until 1962, [[Geraldine Sharpe|Geraldine "Gerry" Sharpe]] served as his photography assistant, and they often took photos of the same locations.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Heller |first1=Jules |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ReZkAgAAQBAJ |title=North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical Dictionary |last2=Heller |first2=Nancy G. |date=December 19, 2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-63889-4 |pages=1670 |language=en |access-date=December 18, 2022 |archive-date=April 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240413061135/https://books.google.com/books?id=ReZkAgAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Adams published his fourth portfolio, ''What Majestic Word'', in 1963, and dedicated it to the memory of his Sierra Club friend [[Russell Varian]],{{sfn|Hammond|Adams|2002|p=108}} who was a co-inventor of the [[klystron]] and who had died in 1959. The title was taken from the poem "Sand Dunes", by [[John Varian]], Russell's father,{{sfn|Hammond|Adams|2002|p=15}} and the fifteen photographs were accompanied by the writings of both John and Russell Varian. Russell's widow, Dorothy, wrote the preface, and explained that the photographs were selected to serve as interpretations of the character of Russell Varian.{{sfn|Hammond|Adams|2002|p=108}}

==Later career==
{{Multiple image
| direction = vertical
| total_width = 200
| image1 = President Gerald R. Ford and First Lady Betty Ford Looking at Photographs in the Oval Office with Ansel Adams.jpg
| caption1 = President [[Gerald Ford]] and First Lady [[Betty Ford]] viewing photographs with Adams, 1975<ref>{{cite archive | last = White House Photographic Office | item = President Gerald R. Ford and First Lady Betty Ford Looking at Photographs in the Oval Office with Ansel Adams and William Turnage | item-url = https://catalog.archives.gov/id/27575790 | item-id = 27575790 | date = January 27, 1975 | fonds =  | series = Gerald R. Ford White House Photographs, September 8, 1974 – January 20, 1977 | file =  | box =  | collection = White House Photographic Office Collection (Ford Administration), June 12, 1973 – January 20, 1977 | collection-url = https://catalog.archives.gov/id/1136 | repository =  | institution = Gerald R. Ford Library | accession =}}</ref>
| image2 = Portrait of Jimmy Carter by Ansel Adams (1979).jpg
| caption2 = [[Jimmy Carter|Jimmy Carter's]] photographic portrait by Adams.
}}
By the 1960s, Adams had developed [[gout]] and arthritis and hoped that moving to a new home would make him feel better. He and his wife considered Santa Fe, but they both had commitments in California (Virginia was managing the Yosemite studio of her father).{{sfn|Spaulding|1998|p=320}} A friend offered to sell them property in [[Carmel Highlands, California|Carmel Highlands]], overlooking the [[Big Sur]] coastline. With architect Eldridge Spencer, they began planning the new home in 1961 and moved there in 1965.<ref>{{cite news | last1 = Glenn | first1 = Constance W. | title = Ansel Adams | url = https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/adams-article-122002 | access-date = March 1, 2019 | work = Architectural Digest | date = December 1, 2002 | archive-date = March 2, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190302024919/https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/adams-article-122002 | url-status = live }}</ref> Adams began to devote much of his time to printing the backlog of negatives that had accumulated over forty years.{{sfn|Spaulding|1998|p=320}}

In the 1960s, a few mainstream art galleries that had considered photography unworthy of exhibit alongside fine paintings decided to show Adams's images, particularly the former Kenmore Gallery in Philadelphia.<ref>Goldbloom, J. (1990). "Remembering the Kenmore" in ''Philly Art Walks''. Fall 1990. p. 3</ref> In March 1963, Ansel Adams and Nancy Newhall accepted a commission from [[Clark Kerr]], the president of the University of California, to produce a series of photographs of the university's campuses to commemorate its centennial celebration. The collection, titled ''Fiat Lux'' after the university's motto, was published in 1967 and now resides in the Museum of Photography at the University of California, Riverside.<ref>{{cite web | title = Ansel Adams Fiat Lux Collection | year = 2014 | url = http://ucr.emuseum.com/collectionoverview/3635?t:state:flow=6f53dd20-a9b2-4f4e-bba7-ebd5bd7347ee#sthash.6sGxAgsM.dpbs | website = UCR ARTS | publisher = UCR ARTSblock | access-date = March 5, 2019 | archive-date = March 6, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044407/http://ucr.emuseum.com/collectionoverview/3635?t:state:flow=6f53dd20-a9b2-4f4e-bba7-ebd5bd7347ee#sthash.6sGxAgsM.dpbs | url-status = dead }}</ref>

During the 1970s, Adams reprinted negatives from his vault, in part to satisfy the demand of art museums that had recently established departments of photography.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://anseladams.com/ansel-adams-museum-set-photographs/ | title = The Ansel Adams Museum Set Photographs | last = Adams | first = Matthew | date = November 29, 2017 | website = Ansel Adams Gallery | access-date = March 6, 2019 | archive-date = March 6, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190306111744/http://anseladams.com/ansel-adams-museum-set-photographs/ | url-status = dead }}</ref>

In 1972, Adams contributed images to help publicize Proposition 20,<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.2307/25161929 | issn = 0162-2897 | volume = 85 | issue = 1 | pages = 44–64 | last = Walton | first = John | title = The Land of Big Sur: Conservation on the California Coast | journal = California History | year = 2007 | jstor = 25161929}}</ref> which authorized the state to regulate development along portions of the California coast.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_20,_Creation_of_the_California_Coastal_Commission_(1972) | title = California Proposition 20, Creation of the California Coastal Commission (1972) | website = Ballotpedia | access-date = March 6, 2019 | archive-date = April 12, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190412114810/https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_20,_Creation_of_the_California_Coastal_Commission_(1972) | url-status = live }}</ref>

In 1974, he exhibited at the Rencontres d'Arles (formerly known as the Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie d'Arles), an annual summer photography festival in France.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rencontres-arles.com/en/presentation-du-festival/ | title = Presentation of the festival | website = Les Rencontres d'Arles | access-date = March 6, 2019 | archive-date = March 30, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190330200212/https://www.rencontres-arles.com/en/presentation-du-festival/ | url-status = dead }}</ref> He also had a major retrospective exhibition at the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]].<ref name="Russell 1984" />

In 1975, he cofounded the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, which handles some of his estate matters.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.creativephotography.org/artists/ansel-adams | title = Ansel Adams | publisher = Center for Creative Photography | access-date = April 27, 2015 | archive-date = September 15, 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170915071746/http://www.creativephotography.org/artists/ansel-adams | url-status = dead }}</ref>

In 1979, [[Jimmy Carter|President Jimmy Carter]] commissioned Adams to make the first official photographic portrait of a U.S. president.{{Sfn|Alinder|1996|pp=294–295}}<ref>{{cite web | title = Jimmy Carter | url = https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.80.305 | website = [[National Portrait Gallery (United States)|National Portrait Gallery]] | access-date = April 20, 2019}}</ref> During this occasion, Adams gave Carter a letter containing two memoranda. One advocated placing Big Sur under federal protection. The other argued for stronger legislation for protecting Alaskan wilderness.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dancis |first1=Daniel |title='I Am Indeed Proud to Have the Opportunity to Present These Memoranda': The Environmentalist Photographer Meets the Conservation President |url=https://text-message.blogs.archives.gov/2020/05/05/i-am-indeed-proud-to-have-the-opportunity-to-present-these-memoranda-the-environmentalist-photographer-meets-the-conservation-president/ |website=The Text Message |publisher=National Archives and Records Administration |date=May 5, 2020}}</ref>

===Death and legacy===
Adams died from cardiovascular disease on April 22, 1984, in the intensive-care unit at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey, California, at age 82. He was surrounded by his wife, two children and five grandchildren.{{Sfn |Alinder|Stillman|Adams|Stegner|1988|p=396}} His body was cremated and his ashes were scattered on [[Half Dome]] at [[Yosemite National Park]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wilson, Scott|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/894938680|title=Resting Places : the Burial Sites of Over 10,000 Famous Persons|date=2013|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-2599-7|edition=2nd|location=Jefferson, NC|pages=|oclc=894938680}}</ref>

Publishing rights for most of Adams's photographs are handled by the trustees of The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust. An archive of Adams's work is located at the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Numerous works by the artist have been sold at auction, including a mural-sized print of ''[[Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park]]'', which sold at [[Sotheby's]] [[New York City|New York]] in June 2010 for $722,500, then the highest price ever paid for an original Ansel Adams photograph.<ref name="cbc.ca">{{cite web | title=Ansel Adams print sells for record $722K US | website=CBC | date=2010-06-22 | url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/ansel-adams-print-sells-for-record-722k-us-1.878772 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510222443/https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/ansel-adams-print-sells-for-record-722k-us-1.878772 | archive-date=2022-05-10 | url-status=live }}</ref> This price was surpassed by another mural-sized print of one of his photographs, ''[[The Tetons and the Snake River]]'', sold for $988,000 at [[Sotheby's]] [[New York City|New York]], on December 14, 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dpreview.com/news/4925755857/iconic-ansel-adams-image-sells-for-nearly-1m-at-sotheby-s-auction-total-sales-of-6-4m|title=Iconic Ansel Adams image sells for nearly $1M at Sotheby's auction, total sales of $6.4M|website=DPReview|accessdate=April 12, 2023|archive-date=March 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323150812/https://www.dpreview.com/news/4925755857/iconic-ansel-adams-image-sells-for-nearly-1m-at-sotheby-s-auction-total-sales-of-6-4m|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[John Szarkowski]] states in the introduction to ''Ansel Adams: Classic Images'' (1985, p.&nbsp;5), "The love that Americans poured out for the work and person of Ansel Adams during his old age, and that they have continued to express with undiminished enthusiasm since his death, is an extraordinary phenomenon, perhaps even unparalleled in our country's response to a visual artist."

Adams' wife, Virginia Rose Best, died on January 29, 2000, aged 96.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/ansel-virginia-best-adams-1904-2000/|title=Virginia Best Adams (1904-2000) &#124; American Experience &#124; PBS|website=www.pbs.org}}</ref>

==Contributions and influence==
===Landscapes of the American West===
[[File:Adams The Tetons and the Snake River.jpg|thumb|upright=2|alt=A dramatically lit black-and-white photograph depicts a large river, which snakes from the bottom right to the center left of the picture. Dark evergreen trees cover the steep left bank of the river, and lighter deciduous trees cover the right. In the top half of the frame, there is a tall mountain range, dark but clearly covered in snow. The sky is overcast in parts, but only partly cloudy in others, and the sun shines through to illuminate the scene and reflect off the river in these places.|''[[The Tetons and the Snake River]]'' (1942)<ref name="National Archives 2017" />]]

Romantic landscape artists [[Albert Bierstadt]] and [[Thomas Moran]] portrayed the [[Grand Canyon]] and Yosemite during the 19th century, followed by photographers [[Carleton Watkins]], [[Eadweard Muybridge]], and [[George Fiske]].{{Sfn |Alinder|1996| p = 33}} Adams's work is distinguished from theirs by his interest in the transient and ephemeral.<ref name="Szarkowski 2018" /> He photographed at varying times of the day and of the year, capturing the landscape's changing light and atmosphere.<ref name="Morgan 2018">{{Cite book | title = The Oxford Dictionary of American Art and Artists | volume = 1 | last = Morgan | first = Ann Lee | date = May 24, 2018 | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 978-0-19-180767-1 | chapter = Adams, Ansel | access-date = November 26, 2018 | chapter-url = http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191807671.001.0001/acref-9780191807671-e-7 | doi = 10.1093/acref/9780191807671.001.0001}}</ref><ref name="Wells 2005">{{Cite book | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 978-0-19-866271-6 | last = Wells | first = Liz | title = The Oxford Companion to the Photograph | chapter = Adams, Ansel | access-date = July 22, 2018 | date = 2005 | chapter-url = http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198662716.001.0001/acref-9780198662716-e-12 | doi = 10.1093/acref/9780198662716.001.0001 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont0000unse_f1h1 | editor1-last = Nicholson | editor1-first = Angela }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last = Lorenz | first = Richard | journal = Oxford Art Online | title = Adams, Ansel | format = Reference | year = 2003 | url = http://www.oxfordartonline.com/groveart/view/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.001.0001/oao-9781884446054-e-7000000436 | doi = 10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T000436 | isbn = 9781884446054 | access-date = December 2, 2018 | archive-date = December 2, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181202070532/http://www.oxfordartonline.com/groveart/view/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.001.0001/oao-9781884446054-e-7000000436 | url-status = live }}</ref>

Art critic John Szarkowski wrote, "Ansel Adams attuned himself more precisely than any photographer before him to a visual understanding of the specific quality of the light that fell on a specific place at a specific moment. For Adams the natural landscape is not a fixed and solid sculpture but an insubstantial image, as transient as the light that continually redefines it. This sensibility to the specificity of light was the motive that forced Adams to develop his legendary photographic technique."<ref>{{cite book|last=Szarkowski|first=John|title=Looking at Photographs: 100 Pictures from the Collection of the Museum of Modern Art|publisher=N.Y. Graphic Society|year=1973|isbn=978-0-87070-515-1|location=New York|page=144}}</ref>

The creation of Adams's grand, highly detailed images was driven by his interest in the natural environment.<ref name="Morgan 2018" /> With increasing environmental degradation in the West during the 20th century, his photos show a commitment to conservation.<ref name="Wells 2005" /> His black-and-white photographs were not just documentation, but reflected a sublime experience of nature as a spiritual place.<ref name="Turnage 2018" />

In 1955, Edward Steichen selected Adams's ''Mount Williamson'' for the world-touring Museum of Modern Art exhibition ''[[The Family of Man]]'',<ref>{{Cite book | editor-first = Jerry | editor-last = Mason | others = Steichen, Edward (organizer); Sandburg, Carl (writer of foreword); Norman, Dorothy (writer of added text); Lionni, Leo (book designer); Stoller, Ezra (photographer) | title = The family of man : the photographic exhibition | date = 1955 | publisher = Published for the Museum of Modern Art by Simon and Schuster in collaboration with the Maco Magazine Corporation | url = https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/10809600 | access-date = August 4, 2018 | archive-date = September 18, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190918233821/https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/10809600 | url-status = live }}</ref> which was seen by nine million visitors. At {{convert|10|by|12|ft}}, his was the largest print in the exhibition, presented floor-to-ceiling in a prominent position as the backdrop to the section "Relationships",<ref>Sollors, Werner (2018) "''The Family of Man'': Looking at the Photographs Now and Remembering a Visit in the 1950s" in {{cite book | editor1 = Hurm, Gerd | editor2 = Reitz, Anke | editor3 = Zamir, Shamoon | title = The family of man revisited : photography in a global age | date = 2018 | publisher = London I.B.Tauris | isbn = 978-1-78672-297-3}}</ref> as a reminder of the essential reliance of humanity on the soil. However, despite its striking and prominent display, Adams expressed displeasure at the "gross" enlargement and "poor" quality of the print.<ref>{{cite book | author1 = Sandeen, Eric J | title = Picturing an exhibition : the family of man and 1950s America | year = 1995 | publisher = University of New Mexico Press | edition = 1st | pages = 47, 59, 169 | isbn = 978-0-8263-1558-8}}</ref>

===Group f/64===
{{Main|Group f/64}}
In 1932, Adams helped form the anti-pictorialist Group f/64, a loose and relatively short-lived association of like-minded "straight" or "pure" photographers on the West Coast whose members included Edward Weston and Imogen Cunningham. The modernist group favored sharp focus—f/64 being a very small aperture setting that gives great depth of field on large-format view cameras—contact printing, precisely exposed images of natural forms and found objects, and the use of the entire tonal range of a photograph.<ref name="Turnage 2018" /><ref name="Szarkowski 2018" /><ref name="Morgan 2018" /><ref>{{Cite book | publisher = Philip's | isbn = 978-0-19-954609-1 | title = World Encyclopedia | chapter = Adams, Ansel | access-date = November 26, 2018 | chapter-url = http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199546091.001.0001/acref-9780199546091-e-96 | doi = 10.1093/acref/9780199546091.001.0001 | year = 2004 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/worldencyclopedi00oxfo }}</ref><ref name="Soccio 2016">{{cite web | last = Soccio | first = Lisa | title = Ansel Adams | work = International Center of Photography | access-date = July 30, 2018 | date = March 3, 2016 | url = https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/ansel-adams | archive-date = November 30, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181130071849/https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/ansel-adams | url-status = live }}</ref>

Adams wrote the group's manifesto for their exhibition at the [[De Young Museum]]:
{{blockquote|Group {{f/}}64 limits its members and invitational names to those workers who are striving to define photography as an art-form by a simple and direct presentation through purely photographic methods. The Group will show no work at any time that does not conform to its standards of pure photography. Pure photography is defined as possessing no qualities of [technique], composition or ideas, derivative of any other art-form. The production of the "Pictorialist," on the other hand, indicates a devotion to principles of art, which are directly related to painting and the graphic arts. The members of Group {{f/}}64 believe that Photography, as an art-form, must develop along lines defined by the actualities and limitations of the photographic medium, and must always remain independent of ideological conventions of art and aesthetics that are reminiscent of a period of culture antedating the growth of the medium itself.{{Sfn | O'Toole|2010}}}}

The f/64 school met with opposition from the pictorialists, particularly [[William Mortensen]], who called their work "hard and brittle".{{sfn|Alinder|1996|pp=76–77}}<ref name="Lovejoy 2014">{{cite news | last1 = Lovejoy | first1 = Bess | title = The Photographer Who Ansel Adams Called the Anti-Christ | url = https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/photographer-who-ansel-adams-called-anti-christ-180953525/ | access-date = February 28, 2019 | work = Smithsonian | date = December 4, 2014 | archive-date = March 27, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190327184314/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/photographer-who-ansel-adams-called-anti-christ-180953525/ | url-status = live }}</ref> Adams disliked the work of Mortensen and disliked him personally, referring to him as the "Anti-Christ". The purists were friends with prominent historians, and their influence led to the exclusion of Mortensen from histories of photography.<ref name="Lovejoy 2014" /><ref>{{cite news | last1 = Appleford | first1 = Steve | title = Pictorialist William Mortensen, reviled by Ansel Adams, gets new respect | url = https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-william-mortensen-20150311-story.html | access-date = February 28, 2019 | work = Los Angeles Times | date = March 11, 2015 | archive-date = February 28, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190228065938/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-william-mortensen-20150311-story.html | url-status = live }}</ref>

Adams later developed this purist approach into the Zone System.<ref name="Soccio 2016" />

===The Zone System===
{{Main|Zone System}}
[[File:Looking across lake toward mountains, "Evening, McDonald Lake, Glacier National Park," Montana., 1933 - 1942 - NARA - 519861.jpg|thumb|upright=1.75|alt=A black-and-white photograph shows a large, still lake extending horizontally off the frame and halfway up vertically, reflecting the rest of the scene. In the distance, a mountain range can be seen, with a gap in the center and one faint smaller mountain in between. The sky is cloudy and large dark clouds rest at the very top of the frame.|''[[Evening, McDonald Lake, Glacier National Park]]'' (1942)<ref>{{cite archive | first = Ansel | last = Adams | item = Looking across Lake toward Mountains, "Evening, McDonald Lake, Glacier National Park," Montana | item-url = https://catalog.archives.gov/id/519861 | item-id = 519861 | fonds =  | series = Ansel Adams Photographs of National Parks and Monuments, 1941–1942 | file =  | box =  | collection = Record Group 79: Records of the National Park Service, 1785–2006 | collection-url = https://catalog.archives.gov/id/408 | repository =  | institution = National Archives at College Park | accession =}}</ref>]]

While Adams and portrait photographer Fred Archer were teaching at the Art Center School in Los Angeles, around 1939–1940, they developed the Zone System for managing the photographic process,<ref>{{Cite book | last1 = Dowdell | first1 = John J. | last2 = Zakia | first2 = Richard D. | title = Zone systemizer for creative photographic control, Part 1 | publisher = Morgan & Morgan | year = 1973 | page = [https://archive.org/details/zonesystemizerfo00dowd/page/6 6] | isbn = 978-0-87100-040-8 | url = https://archive.org/details/zonesystemizerfo00dowd/page/6 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Robinson | first = Edward M. | title = Crime scene photography | publisher = Academic Press | year = 2007 | page = 72 | isbn = 978-0-12-369383-9 | quote = ...Ansel Adams' zone system, formulated in 1939–1940.}}</ref> which was based on [[sensitometry]], the study of the light-sensitivity of photographic materials and the relationship between exposure time and the resulting density on a negative. The Zone System provides a calibrated scale of brightness, from Zone 0 (black) through shades of gray to Zone X (white). The photographer can take light readings of key elements in a scene and use the Zone System to determine how the film must be exposed, developed, and printed to achieve the desired brightness or darkness in the final image.<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Lambrecht | first1 = Ralph W. | last2 = Woodhouse | first2 = Chris | title = Way beyond monochrome : advanced techniques for traditional black & white photography including digital negatives and hybrid printing | date = 2010 | publisher = Taylor & Francis | isbn = 978-0-240-81625-8 | pages = 105–110 | edition = 2nd}}</ref> Although it originated for black-and-white sheet film, the Zone System can be applied to images captured on roll film, both black-and-white and color, negative and reversal, and to digital photography.<ref>{{cite news | last1 = Frye | first1 = Michael | title = Zone System for Landscape Photography | url = https://www.outdoorphotographer.com/tips-techniques/nature-landscapes/the-digital-zone-system/ | access-date = March 5, 2019 | work = Outdoor Photographer | date = February 9, 2010 | archive-date = March 11, 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230311120745/https://www.outdoorphotographer.com/tips-techniques/nature-landscapes/the-digital-zone-system/ | url-status = dead }}</ref>

===Photography department at {{Abbr|MoMA|Museum of Modern Art}}===
In 1940, with trustee David H. McAlpin and curator [[Beaumont Newhall]], Adams helped establish the photography department at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.<ref name="Soccio 2016" /> {{Abbr|MoMA|Museum of Modern Art}} was the first major American art museum to establish a photography department.{{Sfn | O'Toole | 2010}}<ref>{{Cite journal | year = 2013 | doi = 10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.B2230305| isbn = 978-0-19-977378-7 | title = Adams, Ansel Easton | journal = Benezit Dictionary of Artists }}</ref> Adams acted as McAlpin and Newhall's primary advisor;{{Sfn | O'Toole | 2010 | p = 14}} [[Peter Galassi]], the chief curator of the department in later years, said "Adams's dedication and boundless energy were vital to the creation of the department and to its programs in its early years."<ref>{{Citation | publisher = Museum of Modern Art | title = The Museum of Modern Art in Queens Presents Last Chance to View Ansel Adams Centennial Exhibition | date = July 9, 2003 | url = https://www.moma.org/documents/moma_press-release_387051.pdf | access-date = December 2, 2018 | archive-date = December 2, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181202112652/https://www.moma.org/documents/moma_press-release_387051.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref> For those who had sought institutional recognition for photography as art, the founding of the department was an important moment, marking the medium's recognition as a subject equal to painting and sculpture.{{Sfn | O'Toole | 2010 | p = 10}}

On December 31, 1940, the department opened its first exhibition, ''Sixty Photographs: A Survey of Camera Esthetics'',<ref name="MoMA 2018">{{cite web | title = Sixty Photographs: A Survey of Camera Esthetics | work = The Museum of Modern Art | access-date = December 1, 2018 | url = https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/2089 | archive-date = December 2, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181202112649/https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/2089 | url-status = live }}</ref> which resembled large survey exhibitions that Adams and Newhall had previously mounted independently.{{Sfn | O'Toole | 2010 | p = 174}} The exhibition took aesthetic quality as a guiding principle,{{Sfn | O'Toole | 2010 | p = 10}} a philosophy that ran counter to that of many writers and critics, who argued that the medium's more vernacular use as a means of communication should be more fully represented.{{Sfn | O'Toole | 2010 | p = 13}} Photographer [[Ralph Steiner]], writing for ''[[PM (newspaper)|PM]]'', remarked "on the whole it [MoMA] seems to regard photography as soft music at high tea rather than as a jazz at a beefsteak supper."{{Sfn | O'Toole | 2010 | p = 180}} Tom Maloney, publisher of ''U.S. Camera'', wrote that the exhibition was "very choice, very pristine, very small, very ultra."{{Sfn | O'Toole | 2010 | p = 181}} According to Newhall, the exhibition was meant to showcase artistic excellence and "not to define but to suggest the possibilities of photographic vision."<ref name="MoMA 2018" />

===Environmental protection===
In his autobiography, Adams expressed his concern about Americans' loss of connection to nature in the course of industrialization and the exploitation of the land's natural resources. He stated, "We all know the tragedy of the [[Dust Bowl|dustbowls]], the cruel unforgivable erosions of the soil, the depletion of fish or game, and the shrinking of the noble forests. And we know that such catastrophes shrivel the spirit of the people... The wilderness is pushed back, man is everywhere. Solitude, so vital to the individual man, is almost nowhere."{{Sfn|Adams|Alinder|1985|pp=290–291}}

==Awards and honors==
[[File:Ansel Adams Wilderness sign Rush Creek.jpg|thumb|alt=File:Ansel Adams Wilderness sign|[[Ansel Adams Wilderness]] designated area]]
Adams received a number of awards during his lifetime and posthumously, and several awards and places have been named in his honor.<ref>{{cite web | author = Ansel Adams Gallery | title = Biography | publisher = Ansel Adams Gallery | url = http://www.anseladams.com/content/ansel_info/anseladams_biography.html | archive-url = http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20091006142933/http%3A//www%2Eanseladams%2Ecom/content/ansel_info/anseladams_biography%2Ehtml | archive-date = October 6, 2009}}</ref>

For his photography, Adams received an Honorary Fellowship of the [[Royal Photographic Society]] in 1976<ref>{{cite web | publisher = Royal Photographic Society | year = 1976 | url = https://rps.org/about/past-recipients/honorary-fellowship/ | title = Honorary Fellowship | access-date = July 3, 2020 | archive-date = July 3, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200703175209/https://rps.org/about/past-recipients/honorary-fellowship/ | url-status = dead }}</ref> and the [[Hasselblad Award]] in 1981.<ref>{{cite web | publisher = Hasselblad Foundation | year = 1981 | url = http://www.hasselbladfoundation.org/ansel-adams/ | title = Ansel Adams | access-date = June 7, 2012 | archive-date = April 3, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130403140909/http://www.hasselbladfoundation.org/ansel-adams/ | url-status = live }}</ref> Two of his photographs, ''The Tetons and the Snake River'' and a view of the [[Golden Gate Bridge]] from Baker Beach, were among the 115 images recorded on the [[Voyager Golden Record]] aboard the ''Voyager'' spacecraft. These images were selected to convey information about humans, plants and animals, and geological features of the Earth to a possibly alien civilization.<ref>{{cite news | last1 = Gambino | first1 = Megan | title = What Is on Voyager's Golden Record? | url = https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/what-is-on-voyagers-golden-record-73063839/ | access-date = March 5, 2019 | work = Smithsonian | date = April 22, 2012 | archive-date = April 8, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200408014620/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/what-is-on-voyagers-golden-record-73063839/ | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Images on the Golden Record | url = https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/galleries/images-on-the-golden-record/ | website = Voyager | publisher = Jet Propulsion Laboratory | access-date = March 5, 2019 | archive-date = September 9, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180909173240/https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/galleries/images-on-the-golden-record/ | url-status = live }}</ref>

For his conservation efforts, Adams received the [[Sierra Club John Muir Award]] in 1963.<ref name="Sierra Club 2008b">{{cite web | author = Sierra Club | year = 2008 | publisher = Sierra Club | url = http://www.sierraclub.org/ansel_adams/awardwinners/ | title = Award Winners | access-date = July 31, 2008 | archive-date = October 9, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081009122849/http://www.sierraclub.org/ansel_adams/awardwinners | url-status = live }}</ref> In 1968, he was awarded the Conservation Service Award, the highest award of the Department of the Interior.<ref name="Sierra Club" /> In 1980, [[President Jimmy Carter]] awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, for "his efforts to preserve this country's wild and scenic areas, both on film and on earth. Drawn to the beauty of nature's monuments, he is regarded by environmentalists as a national institution."<ref name="Sierra Club" />

Adams received an honorary ''[[Doctor of Arts|artium doctor]]'' degree from Harvard University and an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Yale University. He was elected a Fellow of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 1966.<ref>{{cite web | title = Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter A | url = http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterA.pdf | publisher = American Academy of Arts and Sciences | access-date = April 1, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110510021801/http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterA.pdf | archive-date = May 10, 2011 | url-status = live}}</ref> In 2007, he was inducted into the [[California Hall of Fame]] by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver.<ref>{{cite web | title = Ansel Adams | url = http://www.californiamuseum.org/inductee/ansel-adams | website = California Museum | access-date = March 5, 2019 | archive-date = March 6, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190306111359/http://www.californiamuseum.org/inductee/ansel-adams | url-status = live }}</ref>

The Sierra Club's [[Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography]] was established in 1971,<ref name="Sierra Club 2008b" /> and the [[Ansel Adams Award (The Wilderness Society)|Ansel Adams Award for Conservation]] was established in 1980 by [[The Wilderness Society (United States)|The Wilderness Society]], which also has a large permanent gallery of his work on display at its Washington, D.C. headquarters.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://wilderness.org/ansel-adams-collection | title = Ansel Adams Collection | publisher = The Wilderness Society | access-date = December 17, 2012 | archive-date = July 23, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180723003623/https://wilderness.org/ansel-adams-collection | url-status = dead }}</ref> The Minarets Wilderness in the [[Inyo National Forest]] and a {{convert|11760|ft|m|adj=on}} peak therein were renamed the [[Ansel Adams Wilderness]] and [[Mount Ansel Adams]], respectively, in 1985.<ref name="National Park Service">{{cite web | title = Ansel Adams | url = https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/historyculture/ansel-adams.htm | website = Yosemite National Park | publisher = U.S. National Park Service | access-date = February 28, 2019 | archive-date = March 1, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190301074537/https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/historyculture/ansel-adams.htm | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Ansel Adams Wilderness | url = https://www.sierrawild.gov/wilderness/ansel-adams/ | website = sierrawild.gov | access-date = March 5, 2019 | archive-date = March 6, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044156/https://www.sierrawild.gov/wilderness/ansel-adams/ | url-status = live }}</ref>

In 1984 Adams was inducted into the [[International Photography Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Ansel Adams |url=https://iphf.org/inductees/ansel-adams/ |website=International Photography Hall of Fame |access-date=February 19, 2020 |archive-date=February 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219205459/https://iphf.org/inductees/ansel-adams/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |title=The International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum Announces 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award and Hall of Fame Inductees |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-international-photography-hall-of-fame-and-museum-announces-2017-lifetime-achievement-award-and-hall-of-fame-inductees-300506313.html |website=PR Newswire |access-date=February 19, 2020}}</ref>

==Photographs==
===Color images===
Adams was known mostly for his boldly printed, large-format black-and-white images, but he also worked extensively with color.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://ccp.uair.arizona.edu/item/4538 | title = Ansel Adams Photographs | publisher = Center for Creative Photography at University of Arizona Libraries | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100725015928/http://ccp.uair.arizona.edu/item/4538 | archive-date = July 25, 2010 | url-status = dead}}</ref> However, he preferred black-and-white photography, which he believed could be manipulated to produce a wide range of bold, expressive tones, and he felt constricted by the rigidity of the color process.<ref>{{cite magazine | last = Woodward | first = Richard | title = Ansel Adams in Color | magazine = Smithsonian Magazine | url = https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/ansel-adams-in-color-145315674/ | date = November 2009 | access-date = March 3, 2019 | archive-date = July 17, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180717071016/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/ansel-adams-in-color-145315674/ | url-status = live }}</ref> Most of his color work was done on assignments, and he did not consider his color work to be important or expressive, even explicitly forbidding any posthumous exploitation of his color work.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

===Notable photographs===
[[File:Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AAB-01.jpg|thumb|right|[[Hoover Dam]] in 1941]]
* ''[[Lodgepole Pines, Lyell Fork of the Merced River]]'', Yosemite National Park, 1921
* ''[[Monolith, the Face of Half Dome]]'', Yosemite National Park, 1927
* ''Rose and Driftwood'', San Francisco, California, 1932
* ''Georgia O'Keeffe and Orville Cox'', Canyon de Chelly National Monument, 1937
* ''[[Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park]]'', {{Circa|1937}}<ref name="cbc.ca"/>
* ''Half Dome, Merced River, Winter'', 1938<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gallery |first=The Ansel Adams |date=January 29, 2021 |title=Half Dome, Merced River, Winter |url=https://www.anseladams.com/half-dome-merced-river-winter/ |access-date=August 11, 2023 |website=The Ansel Adams Gallery |language=en-US |archive-date=August 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811113540/https://www.anseladams.com/half-dome-merced-river-winter/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''[[Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico]]'', 1941
* ''[[Evening, McDonald Lake, Glacier National Park]]'', 1942
* ''[[The Tetons and the Snake River]]'', Grand Teton National Park, 1942
* ''[[Winter Sunrise, Sierra Nevada, from Lone Pine, California]]'', 1944<ref>{{Cite web |title=Winter Sunrise, Sierra Nevada, from Lone Pine |url=https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_993399 |access-date=May 6, 2022 |website=National Museum of American History |language=en |archive-date=May 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506120843/https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_993399 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''Mount Williamson'', Sierra Nevada, from Manzanar, California, 1944<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hoving |first=Kirsten |date=October 5, 2016 |title=Ansel Adams, Mount Williamson, Sierra Nevada, from Manzanar, California, 1944 |url=https://sites.middlebury.edu/landandlens/2016/10/05/ansel-adams-mount-williamson-sierra-nevada-from-manzanar-california-1944/ |access-date=May 6, 2022 |website=Land and Lens |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ansel Adams. Mount Williamson, Sierra Nevada, from Manzanar, California. 1944 {{!}} MoMA |url=https://www.moma.org/collection/works/53916 |access-date=May 6, 2022 |website=The Museum of Modern Art |language=en |archive-date=May 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506115340/https://www.moma.org/collection/works/53916 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''[[Aspens, Northern New Mexico]]'', New Mexico, 1958<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ansel Adams. Aspens, Northern New Mexico. 1958 {{!}} MoMA |url=https://www.moma.org/collection/works/53646 |access-date=May 6, 2022 |website=The Museum of Modern Art |language=en |archive-date=May 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506115341/https://www.moma.org/collection/works/53646 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''Moon and Half Dome'', Yosemite National Park, California, 1960<ref>{{Cite web |title=Moon and Half Dome, Yosemite National Park |url=https://philamuseum.org/collection/object/123497 |access-date=May 6, 2022 |website=philamuseum.org |language=en}}</ref>
* ''El Capitan'', Winter Sunrise, 1968<ref>{{Cite web |title=''El Capitan'', Winter, Sunrise, Yosemite National Park, California, 1968, printed 1974, Ansel Easton Adams |date=1968 |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/262578 |access-date=May 6, 2022 |publisher=www.metmuseum.org |archive-date=May 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506115340/https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/262578 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Published works===
* {{Cite book | publisher = The Studio Publications | last = Adams | first = Ansel | title = Making a Photograph: An Introduction to Photography | location = New York | date = 1935}}
* {{Cite book | publisher = Morgan and Lester | last = Adams | first = Ansel | title = Basic Photo Book 1, Camera & Lens: Studio, Darkroom, Equipment | location = New York | date = 1948}}
* {{Cite book | publisher = Morgan and Lester | last = Adams | first = Ansel | title = Basic Photo Book 2, The Negative: Exposure and Development | location = New York | date = 1948}}
* {{Cite book | publisher = Morgan and Lester | last = Adams | first = Ansel | title = Basic Photo Book 3, The Print: Contact Printing and Enlarging | location = New York | date = 1950}}
* {{Cite book | publisher = Morgan and Lester | last = Adams | first = Ansel | title = Basic Photo Book 4, Natural Light Photography | location = New York | date = 1952}}
* {{Cite book | publisher = Morgan and Lester | last = Adams | first = Ansel | title = Basic Photo Book 5, Artificial Light Photography | location = New York | date = 1956}}
* {{Cite book | publisher = Morgan & Morgan | last = Adams | first = Ansel | title = Polaroid Land Photography Manual | location = New York | date = 1963}}
* Adams, Ansel (1974). ''Images 1923–1974.'' Boston: New York Graphic Society. ISBN 978-0-8212-0600-3.
* {{Cite book | publisher = New York Graphic Society | isbn = 978-0-8212-0729-1 | last1 = Adams | first1 = Ansel | last2 = Baker | first2 = Robert | title = Polaroid Land Photography | location = Boston | date = 1978}}
* Adams, Ansel (1979). ''Yosemite and the Range of Light''. Boston: New York Graphic Society. ISBN  978-0-8212-0750-5.

== Camera equipment ==
Most of Adams' best known images were taken with 8x10 and 4x5 [[view camera]]s. He also used a variety of other negative formats, from 35mm and medium format roll film through less common formats such as [[Polaroid type 55]] and 7x17 panoramic cameras.

The 1958 documentary ''Ansel Adams, Photographer'', narrated by [[Beaumont Newhall]], gives an overview of Adams's toolkit at the time, with some examples of his camera outfits including:
* 8 x 10 view camera, 20 holders, 4 lenses - 1 [[Cooke Optics|Cooke]] [[Convertible lens|Convertible]], 1 ten-inch Wide Field Ektar, 1 9-inch Dagor, one 6-3/4-inch Wollensak wide angle.
* 7 x 17 special panorama camera with a Protar 13-1/2-inch lens and five holders.
* 4 x 5 view camera, 6 lenses - 12-inch Collinear, 8-1/2 APO Lantar, 9-1/4 APO Tessar, 4-inch Wide Field Ektar, Dallmeyer London Telephoto

Adams mounted a platform on the roof of his car to allow him to take images with the view cameras from an elevated point of view.<ref>{{Citation |title=Ansel Adams, Photographer (1958) narrated by Beaumont Newhall | date=August 26, 2012 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-BhJQqHXfQ |language=en |access-date=July 18, 2022}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Environmental protection]]
* [[Monochrome photography]]

==Explanatory notes==
{{NoteFoot|30em}}

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

==General and cited references==
{{refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{cite book |last1=Adams |first1=Ansel |last2=Alinder |first2=Mary Street |title=Ansel Adams, an Autobiography |publisher=Little, Brown |location=Boston |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-8212-1596-8}}
* {{cite book |last1=Alinder |first1=Mary |last2=Stillman |first2=Andrea |last3=Adams |first3=Ansel |last4=Stegner |first4=Wallace |title=Ansel Adams: Letters and Images 1916–1984 |publisher=Little, Brown |location=Boston |isbn=978-0-8212-1691-0 |year=1988 |url=https://archive.org/details/anseladamsletter0000adam }}
* {{cite book |last=Alinder |first=Mary Street |title=Ansel Adams: A Biography |publisher=Henry Holt and Company |location=New York |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-8050-4116-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/anseladamsbiogra00alin }}
* {{cite book |last1=Spaulding |first1=Jonathan |title=Ansel Adams and the American landscape: a biography |date=1998 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-21663-1 |edition=1st paperback}}
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u4ZWk8_BM7IC |title=Ansel Adams: divine performance |last1=Hammond |first1=Anne |last2=Adams |first2=Ansel |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-300-09241-7 }}
* {{Cite thesis |type=PhD |publisher=University of Arizona |last=O'Toole |first=Erin |title=No Democracy in Quality: Ansel Adams, Beaumont and Nancy Newhall, and the Founding of the Department of Photographs at the Museum of Modern Art |year=2010 |via=University of Arizona id 3402933 |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/305184615/ |access-date=May 10, 2022 |archive-date=April 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405005447/https://www.proquest.com/docview/305184615/ |url-status=live|id={{ProQuest|305184615}}}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}

===Biographies===
* {{Cite book |publisher=Sierra Club |last1=Newhall |first1=Nancy Wynne |title=Ansel Adams |location=San Francisco |date=1964}}
* {{Cite book |publisher=Little, Brown and Co. |isbn=978-0-8212-2515-8 |last1=Szarkowski |first1=John |last2=Adams |first2=Ansel |last3=San Francisco Museum of Modern Art |title=Ansel Adams at 100 |location=Boston |date=2001}}
* {{Cite book |publisher=Little, Brown, and Co. |isbn=978-0-316-11832-3 |last1=Lynes |first1=Barbara Buhler |last2=Phillips |first2=Sandra S |last3=Woodward |first3=Richard B |last4=Georgia O'Keeffe Museum |last5=Ansel Adams Trust |title=Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams: natural affinities |location=New York |date=2008}}
* {{Cite book |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0300243949 |last1=Senf |first1=Rebecca |title=Making a Photographer: The Early Work of Ansel Adams |location=New Haven |date=2020}}

===Photographic books===
* {{Cite book |last1=Adams |first1=Ansel |last2=Newhall |first2=Nancy |last3=Brower |first3=David |publisher=Sierra Club – Photogravure & Color Co |title=This is the American earth |location=San Francisco |date=1960}}
* {{Cite book |publisher=Sierra Club – Grabhorn Press |last1=Adams |first1=Ansel |title=Portfolio three: Yosemite Valley. Sixteen original photographic prints by Ansel Adams. |location=San Francisco |date=1960}}
* {{Cite book |publisher=Random House |last1=Sutton |first1=Ann |last2=Sutton |first2=Myron |last3=Adams |first3=Ansel |title=The American West; a natural history |location=New York |date=1969}}
* {{Cite book |isbn=978-0-8212-0600-3 |last1=Adams |first1=Ansel |editor-last1=Stegner |editor-first1=Wallace |editor-last2=Childs |editor-first2=Betty |title=Ansel Adams: images 1923–1974 |date=1974|publisher=New York Graphic Society }}
* {{Cite book |isbn=978-0-8212-0699-7 |last1=Adams |first1=Ansel |last2=Powell |first2=Lawrence Clark |title=Photographs of the Southwest: selected photographs made from 1928 to 1968 in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah, with a statement by the photographer |date=1976|publisher=Bulfinch }}
* {{Cite book |isbn=978-0-8212-0723-9 |last1=Adams |first1=Ansel |last2=Szarkowski |first2=John |last3=Hill |first3=Tim |title=The portfolios of Ansel Adams |date=1977 |publisher=Little, Brown |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/portfoliosofanse00adam}}
* {{Cite book |isbn=978-0-87070-649-3 |last1=Adams |first1=Ansel |last2=Brooks |first2=Paul |last3=Szarkowski |first3=John |last4=New York Graphic Society |title=Yosemite and the range of light |date=1979 |location=New York |publisher=Museum of Modern Art}}
* {{Cite book |publisher=Little, Brown |isbn=978-0-8212-1629-3 |last1=Alinder |first1=James |last2=Szarkowski |first2=John |last3=Adams |first3=Ansel |title=Ansel Adams: classic images |location=Boston |date=1986}}
* {{Cite book |publisher=Times Books |isbn=978-0-8129-1727-7 |last1=Armor |first1=John |last2=Wright |first2=Peter |last3=Hersey |first3=John |last4=Adams |first4=Ansel |last5=Hersey |first5=John |last6=Mazal Holocaust Collection |title=Manzanar |script-title=ja:林子園 |location=New York |date=1988 |url=https://archive.org/details/manzanarringoen00armo}}
* {{Cite book |isbn=978-0-8212-1799-3 |last1=Adams |first1=Ansel |last2=Stillman |first2=Andrea Gray |title=The American wilderness |date=1990|publisher=Bulfinch }}
* {{Cite book |publisher=Crescent Books |isbn=978-0-517-06034-6 |last1=Adams |first1=Ansel |last2=Pritzker |first2=Barry |title=Ansel Adams |location=New York |date=1991 |url=https://archive.org/details/anseladams00adam}}
* {{Cite book |isbn=978-0-8212-1910-2 |last1=Adams |first1=Ansel |last2=Stillman |first2=Andrea Gray |last3=Turnage |first3=William A |title=Our national parks |date=1992 |publisher=Bulfinch |url=https://archive.org/details/ournationalparks0000adam}}
* {{Cite book |publisher=Little, Brown |isbn=978-0-8212-1980-5 |last1=Adams |first1=Ansel |last2=Callahan |first2=Harry M |last3=Schaefer |first3=John Paul |last4=Stillman |first4=Andrea Gray |title=Ansel Adams in color |location=Boston |date=1993 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/anseladamsincolo0000adam}}
* {{Cite book |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |isbn=978-0-8212-2134-1 |last1=Adams |first1=Ansel |last2=Stillman |first2=Andrea Gray |last3=Szarkowski |first3=John |title=Yosemite and the High Sierra |location=Boston; New York; Toronto |date=1994}}
* {{Cite book |isbn=978-0-89660-056-0 |last1=Adams |first1=Ansel |last2=United States National Park Service |title=Ansel Adams: the National Park Service photographs |date=1995|publisher=Artabras }}
* {{Cite book |isbn=978-0-87427-100-3 |last1=Castleberry |first1=May |last2=Sandweiss |first2=Martha A |last3=Chávez |first3=John |last4=Whitney Museum of American Art |title=Perpetual mirage: photographic narratives of the desert West |date=1996 |publisher=Whitney Museum of American Art |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/perpetualmiragep0000cast}}
* {{Cite book |publisher=Little, Brown |isbn=978-0-316-11772-2 |last1=Adams |first1=Ansel |last2=Stillman |first2=Andrea Gray |title=Ansel Adams: 400 photographs |location=New York |date=2007}}
* {{Cite book |publisher=Little, Brown and Co. |isbn=978-0-316-07846-7 |last1=Adams |first1=Ansel |last2=Stillman |first2=Andrea Gray |last3=Woodward |first3=Richard |title=Ansel Adams in the national parks: photographs from America's wild places |location=New York |date=2010}}
* {{Cite book |publisher=University of California Press |last1=Adams |first1=Ansel |last2=Newhall |first2=Nancy |last3=University of California Press |title=Fiat lux: the University of California |location=Berkeley |date=2012}}
* {{Cite book |publisher=Little, Brown and Co. |isbn=978-0316323406 |last1=Adams |first1=Ansel |last2=Galassi |first2=Peter |title=Ansel Adams in Yosemite Valley: Celebrating the Park at 150 |location=New York |date=2014}}
* {{Cite book |publisher=Little, Brown and Co. |isbn=978-0316456128 |last1=Adams |first1=Ansel |last2=Souza |first2=Peter |title=Ansel Adams' Yosemite: The Special Edition Prints |location=New York |date=2019}}

===Young adult and children's books===
* {{Cite book |publisher=Carolrhoda Books |isbn=978-0-585-32289-6 |last1=Dunlap |first1=Julie |last2=Maguire |first2=Kerry |title=Eye on the wild: a story about Ansel Adams |location=Minneapolis |access-date=March 4, 2019 |date=1995 |url=https://archive.org/details/eyeonwildstoryab0000dunl |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |isbn=978-0-316-82445-3 |last=Gherman |first=Beverly |title=Ansel Adams: America's photographer; a biography for young people |location=Boston |date=2002}}
* {{Cite book |isbn=978-1-62779-082-6 |last1=Jenson-Elliott |first1=Cynthia L |last2=Hale |first2=Christy |title=Antsy Ansel: Ansel Adams, a life in nature |date=2016|publisher=Macmillan }}

===Documentaries===
* {{Cite AV media |publisher=Pacific Arts Video |people=Huszar, John (Producer and Director); Gray, Andrea (Producer) |title=Ansel Adams, photographer |location=Beverly Hills, CA |year=1986}}
* {{Cite AV media |publisher=PBS DVD Video : Distributed by PBS Home Video |isbn=978-0-7806-3939-3 |people=Burns, Ric (Producer and Director); Ness, Marilyn (Producer) |title=Ansel Adams : a documentary film |location=Alexandria, VA? |series=American Experience |year=2002}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|d=Q60809|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no|wikt=no|s=no}}
* [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aamhtml/aamhome.html American Memory&nbsp;– Ansel Adams] "Suffering Under a Great Injustice" Ansel Adams's Photographs of Japanese-American Internment at Manzanar From the American Memory Collection of the Library of Congress.
* [https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/photographer-adams-ansel-nmahphc/Y7iE7dxVLw7oygpH Ansel Adams collection] at the [[National Museum of American History|Smithsonian National Museum of American History]]
* [https://www.archives.gov/research/ansel-adams/ Records of the National Park Service&nbsp;– Ansel Adams Photographs] 226 high-resolution photographs from National Archives Still Picture Branch.
* [http://ccp-emuseum.catnet.arizona.edu/view/people/asitem/A/3?t:state:flow=d60124d8-3efa-4f13-815f-836f0b8744e0 All Ansel Adams Images Online Center for Creative Photography (CCP)] CCP at the University of Arizona has released a digital catalog of all Adams's images.
* {{Europeana|first=Ansel|last=Adams|access-date=June 1, 2021}}
* [http://mentalfloss.com/article/533616/10-snappy-facts-about-ansel-adams 10 Facts About Ansel Adams] ([[Mental Floss]])
* [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ansel-Adams-American-photographer ''Encyclopædia Britannica'']
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyT3YuY2V8c Interview] on CBS Sunday Morning from September 1979

{{Ansel Adams|state=expanded}}
{{Hasselblad Award}}
{{Big Sur}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Ansel}}
[[Category:Ansel Adams| ]]
[[Category:1902 births]]
[[Category:1984 deaths]]
[[Category:American environmentalists]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American photographers]]
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[[Category:Environmental writers]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences]]
[[Category:American fine art photographers]]
[[Category:History of photography]]
[[Category:People with hypochondriasis]]
[[Category:American landscape photographers]]
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[[Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients]]
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