Ansel 'Yosemite' Adams

Ansel "Yosemite" Adams

It is said that, "A picture is worth a thousand words." Ansel Adams proved this statement correct with every single image he produced. Some of his best-known photographs were taken in the Yosemite Valley, including his first ever picture of Monolith; the Face of Half Dome nestled in the heart of the valley. When the thought of Yosemite comes to mind, Ansel Adams' name follows right behind it. Adams' life revolved around Yosemite in many ways, and he was often called "Ansel Yosemite Adams" (Fischer 8). He was a caring man and cared deeply about the Sierra Nevada, and seemed to have a psychic connection with Yosemite (Spaulding 615). Ansel Adams once recalled his first visit to Yosemite:

The first impression of the Valley-white water, azaleas, cool fir caverns, tall pines, and solid oaks, cliffs rising to undreamed-of heights, the poignant sounds and smells of the sierra, the whirling flourish of the stage stop at Camp Curry with its bewildering activities of porters, tourists, desk clerks, and mountain jays, and the dark green-bright mood of our tent-was a culminations of experience so intense as to be almost painful. From that day in 1916, my life has been colored and modulated by the great earth-gesture of the Sierra. (Fischer 9)

Adams' love for Yosemite was portrayed through his elegant words and pure black and white images of the valley. The natural beauty of Yosemite was shared with the world through his images of unspoiled rushing streams, raging waterfalls, crystal clear lakes, lone trees and high sierra mountain peaks. In the combination of his photographs and writings, Adams demonstrated "that those who appreciate the earth's wild places have a duty and responsibility to use them wisely and well...

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...tional Park idea" (246). His magnificent photographs were his key to access the powerful leaders that could help him protect the land he loved (Fischer 18). Adams persistence and dedication to Yosemite changed the face of how people view our national parks. Yosemite's natural beauties and wilderness gained much appreciation from the American people through Adams images and efforts to protect the national park. In his autobiography Adams said, "While touching the fringes of environmental problems, I am happy to have been able to have had some small effect on the increasing awareness of the world situation through both my photographs and my vocal assertions" (322). Adams "photographs continue to inspire artist and conservationist alike" (Sierra Club). With his contributions to Yosemite, the sentimental value of the national park would not be as momentous as it is today.