Ansel Adams was an American photographer born in San Francisco, California, February 20th 1902. The photography of Ansel Adams captured the majestic American landscape, and is no doubt best remembered for his sublime black and white photographs of the landscape of the American West. Adams died April 22nd in 1984.

Ansel Adams had a great passion for nature and its preservation and he became a keen conservationist. At the age of 17 Adams took a job as a custodian at the Sierra Club, an environmental conservation group, soon after visiting the Yosemite National Park and being inspired by the natural beauty of the dynamic Yosemite landscape.

The club would prove to be a great support to Adams in his early photography. His early photographs and texts were published in the Sierra Club bulletin and Adams became more and more involved in the club, he became the official photographer for the Club’s annual outing and as he became more politically involved with the club's activities he moved onto becoming a member on the board of Directors, a position he held for 37 years. The Sierra Club is now said to be America's oldest, largest and most influential grass roots environmental organization.

As well as his passion for environmental conservation, Ansel Adams was also instrumental in the world of photography too. He became a master of wielding a black and white image, from the film negative to the finished photograph, Adams wrote comprehensively on the subject, and his books are essential reading for anyone who wants to explore the processes of traditional black and white photography today!

Adams also invented the Zone System in photography along with Fred Archer in 1941. The Zone System in photography is a method used to determine the correct exposure of film negatives and print development primarily developed for the traditional black and white photographic processes. The system is designed to bridge the gap from what the photographer actually sees and what she/he visualises a final print would be like in terms of value: and value being the light and darkness of the final print, which helps the photographer to better evaluate what the final image will look like.

As well as inventing the Zone System, Ansel Adams also founded along with other photographers including Imogen Cunningham and Edward Weston the Group f64 in 1932. Group f64 was formed by photographers that were dedicated to the creation of straight photography without manipulation to the image of any kind. And at the time was a reaction against the pictorialism movement in photography.

The pictorialism movement was focused on the more personal artistic expression in photography. Through using such methods as soft focus, different filters to create effects, and heavy manipulation in the darkroom and using unique processes to alter the image, something which Ansel Adams was very much against. The Group f64 dedication to the pure photographic image with their pursuit of absolute sharpness and clarity, gave us some of the most divine photographs ever to be taken!

Just like his preservation of traditional photography, Ansel Adams worked tirelessly on environmental conservation all his life. Throughout his landscape photographs reflect the natural beauty he so sought to preserve. You can view a wonderful selection of Ansel Adam's Photography at the Sierra Club's website here.