Iain McCulloch

Ansel Adams: His Life and Work

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 Iain McCulloch
Biography

Ansel Adams is one of the worlds best known landscape photographers. He is also a rather
controversial figure. More than any other photographer he can polarise opinion. Many of his
devotees will jealously defend the reputation of ‘Saint Ansel’ no matter what. At the other
extreme there are those for whom his attitudes & approach to photography (and conservation)
are anathema and who fail to acknowledge his strengths and positive contribution to the
subjects. As one might expect, the truth probably lies somewhere between these extremes of
opinion.

Although best remembered as a landscape photographer, Adams’ was not limited to this field
of photography. It is, however, true his most well known work attempts to capture his vision
of the natural world. This vision, together with his technical contributions, and his role as
educator and author have served to make Adams one of the most influential photographers of
all time.

Ansel Adams was born in San Francisco, California, on February 20th 1902, the son of
Charles Hitchcock Adams and Olive Bray. When he was four years old he fell during an
aftershock of the great earthquake of 1906. The broken nose which he sustained during this
incident contributed to his distinctive appearance in later life. A year later the Adams family
fortune collapsed in the financial panic of 1907.

Adams was an only child and his parents were relatively elderly. He grew up in an
environment which was both socially and emotionally conservative. The young Adams had
problems fitting in at school. In later life he observed that, in the modern world, he might
have been diagnosed as a hyperactive child. There is also the distinct possibility that he
suffered from dyslexia. His lack of success at various institutions led to Adams being
withdrawn from school and tutored at home.

By the age of twelve Adams had developed two

abiding passions: nature and the piano. Indeed, by
1920, the latter had become Adams intended
profession. His love of nature had begun while
growing up close to the Golden Gate in California. It
developed further during his visits to Yosemite and
the Sierra Nevada which began in 1916 and
continued until his death.

Adams love of the Yosemite Sierra was to have a

profound influence on his photographic career. He
felt that his life was “coloured and modulated by the
great Earth gesture” of the area [Adams, 1948, p14].
In 1916, his parents gave him a Kodak No. 1 Box
Brownie which he began using in the Yosemite
Valley gaining his early experience of photography.
In 1919 he joined the Sierra Club becoming friends
with many of the clubs leaders who were among the
founders of America’s conservation movement.
Figure 2: Ansel Adams Portrait by Edward Adams first published photographs appeared in the
Weston (1946)
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Sierra Club’s 1922 Bulletin, and his first solo exhibition was held at the headquarters of the
club in San Francisco in 1928. He even met his wife, Virginia Best, in Yosemite. The couple
married in 1928 and were to have two children.

The Sierra Club organised annual month-long visits to the Sierra Nevada which attracted as
many as two hundred members. Adams accompanied these outings as photographer and by
the late 1920s realised that he could earn a living as a photographer. His transition from
jobbing concert-pianist to professional photographer accelerated following a meeting with
Albert M. Bender, a San Francisco insurance magnate and patron of the arts, who arranged
the publication of Adams’ first portfolio in 1927.

In the 1920s and early 1930s Adams was influenced by a number of the great photographers
of the day. In 1927 Adams met Edward Weston, with whom he would later found the
renowned Group f/64. Although short lived, f/64 had a profound effect on the future direction
of American photography. Another photographer whose work had a powerful impact on that
of the young Adams was Paul Strand, who Adams was later to give credit for his move from
the ‘pictorial’ style he had favoured in the 1920s.

In 1933 Adams made his first visit to New York in order to meet Alfred Stieglitz. Adams
particularly admired the philosophy and commitment to the medium shown by Stieglitz and
made a conscious effort to emulate these in his own life. His association with Stieglitz was an
important factor in the recognition which Adams received through the 1930s and 1940s.
Recognition does not, however, pay the bills and Adams worked as a commercial
photographer shooting everything from portraits to catalogues. Even so, the intermittent
nature of the work meant that Adams’ was never free of financial pressures until late in his
life.

Adams described himself as a photographer-lecturer-writer. He certainly exhibited enormous

energy and capacity for work. This energy was also apparent in his social life where “Adams
was a great party man and loved to entertain. He had a very dominating personality and would
always be the centre of attention” [Newhall, 1993, p235]. Above all, Adams was a natural
communicator who spent much of his life fighting for the conservation of the wilderness
which he loved and to promoting photography as a fine art. He died of heart failure,
aggravated by cancer, on April 22nd 1984 in Monterey, California, aged 82.

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Landscape Photography

As stated earlier, Adams is probably best known

as a landscape photographer. His photographs
were to become the symbols of the American
wilderness. One of his earliest, and perhaps best
known photographs is Monolith, Half Face of the
Dome (figure 3), taken in 1927. This was Adams’
first fully visualised photograph. In fact 1927 was

Figure 3: Monolith, Face of Half Dome, 1927

a pivotal year in Ansel Adams’ career since it was

also the year he met Albert Bender.

Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada provided Adams

Figure 4: Moon and Half Dome, 1960
with the subject matter for much of his landscape
work. Adams was renowned for his use of ‘straight photography’ which emphasised the
clarity of the lens and where the final
print shows no appearance of being
manipulated, either in the camera or the
darkroom. His black and white images
were not, however, simply documenting
nature. They are reflections of Adams’
vision of nature and as such they
attempt to intensify the natural beauty.

A change in Adams’ style can be seen

in the 1930s as he began to move away
from the ‘pictorial’ style which had
characterised his work in the 1920s.
This is generally credited to the
influence of the photographer Paul
Strand who Adams met in 1930.
Figure 5: Half Dome, Merced River, 1938

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A criticism which has been levelled at Ansel Adams is
that he manipulated the landscape to achieve the
photograph he required, even to the extent of having
swathes of forest destroyed. At first glance, this may
seem at variance with Adams’ well known and
lifelong advocacy for the environment. However, his

Figure 6: Mount Williamson, Sierra

Nevada, 1945

photographs also served as a spur for public

opinion which, in turn, helped put pressure on
the American government leading to legislation
for the protection of Adams’ beloved wilderness.

Whether he believed that the ends justified the

means, or was simply determined to achieve the
photograph he wanted at any cost, most modern

Figure 7: El Capitan, 1952

photographers find the idea of such destruction

repellent. However, a more charitable view would
take into account the standards of his day. Perhaps the
modern audience should accept the beauty and
technical excellence of his photographs, while
acknowledging that such a cavalier attitude to the
subject landscape would be unacceptable today.

Figure 8: Oak Tree, Snowstorm, 1948

Adams also attracted considerable criticism

for not including people, or indeed any
evidence of humanity, in his photographs.
However, this really fails to appreciate
Adams’ aims.
Figure 9: Teton Range and Snake River, c1942

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A further criticism of the work of

Adams’ and his contemporaries
was made by the French
photographer Henri Cartier-
Bresson who complained that “the
world is falling to pieces and all
that Adams and Weston
photograph is rocks and trees”
[Adams, 1978, p498].

Such criticisms are hardly

surprising when one considers
contemporary global events! The
Figure 10: Moonrise, Hernandez, NM, 1941 different choices of subject matter
are, in part, simply reflecting those
subjects which were exercising the
minds of contemporary Europeans and Americans. However, one could argue that, no matter
how terrible the global events become, it is important that somebody should take the time to
photograph the rocks and trees!

Figure 11: Gate of the Valley, 1948

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Other work

Adams work as a commercial photographer

covered a wide range of subjects, from
portraiture to architecture, from still-life to
catalogues. Indeed, some of his most striking
and beautiful photographs are still-life images
or details from nature. Although many people
will immediately recognise an Ansel Adams
landscape, few will identify his other work as
readily.

Figure 12: Dogwood Blossoms, 1938

Figure 13: Sequoia Roots, 1950

Figure 14: Rose and Driftwood, 1932

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 Iain McCulloch
Technical Contributions

Adams’ technical mastery was second to none. He revelled in both the theory and practice of
photography. He served as principal consultant with Polaroid and Hasselblad (as well as
acting as a consultant to many other photographic companies). The ten volumes of technical
manuals which he published are among the most accessible and influential books ever
published on the subject.

Perhaps the best known of Adam’s technical contributions to photography is the ‘Zone
System’ which he formulated, in conjunction with Fred Archer, in 1939/40. The Zone System
is a set of techniques which allow the photographer to consistently control the tonal range in
the black-and-white negative. The photographer imagines the subject in shades of grey from
it’s deepest shadow to its’ brightest highlight. This is known as ‘pre-visualisation’. The
shades in the subject are related to the ‘Zone Scale’ (figure 15 below), and this is used to
adjust the exposure to give the optimum result.

Figure 15: Zone Scale

The numbers assigned to the zones varies in different publications, with some ranging from I
to X and others from 0 to IX. In either case, the lowest figure is total black (zone I in figure
15 above) and the highest is total white (zone X in figure 15). Zone VI in figure 15 represents
mid-grey which represents the tone which would be expected for a subject brightness about
mid-way between the darkest and lightest.

To achieve consistent results using the Zone System the photographer must standardise key
aspects of their technique as applied to their specific equipment and working conditions. This
preparatory work can be time consuming, but need only be carried out once unless the
equipment and or conditions change.

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Conclusions

The position of Ansel Adams as one of the most influential photographers of all time cannot
be denied. His route to this position was unorthodox. Although best known for his landscape
photography, particularly those taken in Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada, Adams also worked
with many other photographic subjects. This was especially true of the time he worked as a
commercial photographer. His style developed under the influence of many of the greatest
photographers of the day, including Edward Weston, Paul Strand, and Alfred Stieglitz.

Adams’ technical mastery was second to none. With the Zone System he provided a set of
techniques to control the tonal range of the negative during exposure and development. His
technical manuals are accessible and remain among the most influential books ever published.
This reflects Adams’ great skill as a communicator.

Adams’ work is not essentially concerned with describing reality, but rather with representing
it in a highly selective manner. His photographs conveyed the majesty and grandeur of the
American west to many who had never had the opportunity of experiencing it in person. The
landscapes emphasise the dramatic and unspoilt nature of the subject. This reflected the fact
that Adams was an environmentalist as well as a photographer.

Adams was, however, a product of his age and also of his unusual and rather solitary
upbringing. As we look back from the centenary of his birth it is perhaps appropriate to judge
his perceived faults in the context of his time. The undoubted masterpieces which he
produced should be accepted as reflections of his world. These, together with his technical
contributions to the field of photography are his legacy. Ansel Adams is often described as a
legend. His work is visually rewarding and he is certainly a photographer who will be long
remembered.

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Bibliography

Adams, A., (1935), Making a Photograph, San Francisco.

Adams, A., (1948), Yosemite and the High Sierra, Little, Brown & Co., Boston.

Adams, A., (1952), Natural Light Photography, New York Graphic Society, Boston.

Adams, A., (1954), Death Valley, San Francisco.

Adams, A., (1956), Artificial Light Photography, New York Graphic Society, Boston.

Adams, A., (1972), Ansel Adams, Little, Brown & Co., Boston.

Adams, A., (1978), Oral History, University of California, Berkeley.

Adams, A., (1988), Letters and Images, Bullfinch Press, New York.

Adams, A. & Barker, R., (1980), The Camera, Little, Brown & Co., Boston.

Adams, A. & Barker, R., (1981), The Negative, Little, Brown & Co., Boston.

Adams, A. & Barker, R., (1983), The Print, Little, Brown & Co., Boston.

Adams, A. & Schaefer, J.P, (1999), The Ansel Adams Guide: Basic Techniques of
Photography, Bullfinch Press., New York.

Busselle, M., (1988) The Complete 35mm Sourcebook, Mitchell Beazley, London.

Graves, C., (1996), The Zone System for 35mm Photographers (2nd Edition), Focal Press,
Oxford.

Langford, M., (1986) Basic Photography (5th Edition), Focal Press, Oxford.

Langford, M., (1989) Advanced Photography (5th Edition), Focal Press, Oxford.

Newhall, B., (1993), FOCUS: Memoirs of a Life in Photography,

Schaefer, J.P., (1998), Ansel Adams Guide, Bullfinch Press, New York.

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