What a life!
” I know that I am one with beauty and that my comrades are one. Let our souls be mountains, let our spirits be stars, let our hearts be worlds.” These statments belong to Ansel Adams, an American photographer and envirnmentalist. He was born in 1902 in San Francisco, California. Ansel Adams spent most of his childhood roaming along San Francisco Bay, collecting insects and exploring nearby nature. His father, Charles Adam, an Irish man who had a successful lumber business, bought him a camera. Although interested in playing piano, he determined to take photos of the nature.
First, he was Pictorialism but eventually rejected it and wanted to expand clarity, contrast and precise images. So, his images have high resolution with depth and beauty. He is also best known for his Black and White pictures of Western American. “Moonrise” is one of his masterpieces.
In 1928, He married Virginia Best and had two children, Michael and Anne. So, he attempted to expand his works and to focus on details. He wrote” The John Muir Trail” limited-edition book in 1938 in order to protect the designation of Sequoia and Kings Canyon as National Parks. Finally, Congress designated the area as the National Park in 1940. He also believed that everyone should have access to his photographs. So, he created books, posters, calendars and prints which are still used today.
Heart failure caused by cancer brought his life to an end in 1984, at the age of 82. He was surrounded by his wife, two children and five grandchildren. Ansel Adams is a great man who learned to live a modest and moral life and to have the responsibility to nature and human. “Millions of men have lived to fight, build palaces and boundries, shape destinies and societies; but the compelling force of all times has been the force of originality and creation profoundly affecting the roots of human spirit.”
For more detailed information, please check the addresses below:
The article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansel_Adam
The video: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=KGxGpib-yHw