Ansel Adams was a landscape photographer and environmentalist. He is best known for his black and white images of the american west.

Adams was born February 20th 1902 in San Francisco California. He grew up in a house amid the sand dunes of the golden gate. As a boy, Ansel Adams was not very successful at school, leading to his Father and aunt tutoring him at home.

The main way in which Adams found joy, was in nature. He would go on long walks nearly everyday, hiking to the dunes, Lobos Creek, Baker Beach and even out to the very edge of the american continent.

1927 was an important year of Adams’ life. This was when he made his first fully visualized photograph, Monolith the Face of Half Dome. Adams began to persue ‘straight photography’, where he emphasized the clarity of the lens. This meant the final print gave no appearance of being manipulated in the camera or the dark room.

In 1928 Adams married his wife Virginia Best. The couple went on to have two children.

Majority of Adams work as a photographer was completed by 1950. During his later life he spent most his time reinterpreting his earlier work and editing his books.