Ansel Adams: An Autobiography

by Mary Street Alinder, Ansel Adams

Overview

Discover this "evocative celebration of the life, career, friendships, concerns, and vision" of Ansel Adams, America's greatest photographer (New York Times)


"No lover of Ansel Adams' photographs can afford to miss this book." - Wallace Stegner

In this bestselling autobiography, completed shortly before his death in 1984, Ansel Adams looks back at his legendary six-decade career as a conservationist, teacher, musician, and, above all, photographer.
Illustrated with eight pages of Adams' gorgeous black-and-white photographs, this book brings readers behind the images into the stories and circumstances of their creation. Written with characteristic warmth, vigor, and wit, this fascinating account brings to life the infectious enthusiasms, fervent battles, and bountiful friendships of a truly American original.


"A warm, discursive, and salty document." - New Yorker

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780821222416
Publisher:	Bulfinch
Publication date:	02/01/1996
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	360
Sales rank:	387,200
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.95(d)

About the Author

Ansel Adams (1902-1985) was the most honored American photographer of the twentieth century. Through the exhibition and publication of his work, his writings, and his leadership in the Sierra Club, Adams was also a prescient and highly effective voice in the fight to preserve America's remaining wilderness.

Editorial Reviews

"Rough-edged...witty and candid...A direct line to Adams' thoughts and ideas."—Los Angeles Times

"An evocative celebration of the life, career, friendships, concerns, and vision of an ardent environmentalist and pioneering artist who captured the rich natural beauty of America through the lens of his camera."—New York Times

"A warm, discursive, and salty document"—New Yorker

From the Publisher

"A warm, discursive, and salty document"

New Yorker

"An evocative celebration of the life, career, friendships, concerns, and vision of an ardent environmentalist and pioneering artist who captured the rich natural beauty of America through the lens of his camera."

New York Times

"Rough-edged...witty and candid...A direct line to Adams' thoughts and ideas."

Los Angeles Times

An accomplished musician, ardent conservationist, master photographer and teacher, Ansel Adams (19021984) made a major cultural contribution to the American nation, which awarded him the Medal of Freedom. This life story describes his boyhood discovery of California's Yosemite and High Sierra, a land he loved and photographed the remainder of his life. He traces the development of his esthetic beliefs and technical style, including the widely emulated Adams ``zone system'' of scenic composition and exposure. A chapter on his early efforts offers one of the best definitions yet articulated about photography as art. There are lively accounts of his acquaintance in conservation work with several U.S. presidents, and of relationships he had with photographer colleaguesStieglitz, Steichen, Weston, Georgia O'Keeffe, Nancy and Beaumont Newhall, Paul Strand, Dorothea Lange, Imogen Cunningham, Edwin Land and others. The 270 illustrations here include personal shots of family, friends and wilderness high jinks, as well as many Adams masterworks like ``Yosemite Half-Dome'' and ``Moonrise, Hernandez.'' BOMC featured alternate. October

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Adams's commitment to the serious study of photography lasted from 1930 until his death in 1984. He influenced hundreds of photographers through ex hibitions, books, and workshops. His work for the Sierra Club (photographic and otherwise) brought national recog nition. His autobiography moves from family reminiscences to his experiences with Edward Weston, Paul Strand, Dorothea Lange, the Newhalls, Geor gia O'Keefe, Steiglitz, and Steichen, giving Adams's perspective on devel opments in the visual arts. It portrays a deeply felt concern with both craft and aesthetics, and a lifelong dedication to preserving the glory of the Western en vironment. No library with any sort of collection in photography should be without this book. Illustrations not seen. J.R. Mosler, Hackettstown P.L., N.J.

Library Journal

"An evocative celebration of the life, career, friendships, concerns, and vision of an ardent environmentalist and pioneering artist who captured the rich natural beauty of America through the lens of his camera."

The New York Times