A great photographer and conservationist, Ansel Adams went through life accompanied by a camera. He was a man of great talent, perseverance and passion. His life-long interest was in the national parks, and through his 40 years of leadership in the Sierra Club and his exquisite photography, he brought the parks into the American consciousness. The man known as Ansel Adams wanted to be an artist; someone who can show others what he sees through the aesthetic means of photography.
That is exactly what he became known as after a long and dedicated career. Born on February 20th, 1902 to a wealthy family in San Francisco, California, Adams enjoyed a semi-lavish up bringing. Unable to deal with the tedium in school, Ansel's contempt was ceased when his parents agreed on providing a home education in the most prestigious subjects such as Greek, the English classics, and algebra. His fondness of the arts began with his learning how to play the piano, the fascination provided by the Panama-Pacific International Exposition which celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal, and the everyday glories of the ocean, inlets, and rocky beaches that surrounded his home in San Francisco.
At the age of fourteen, Ansel Adams received his first camera as a present from his parents. Although it was a simple Kodak Box Brownie, it served efficient for his inspiration as a photographer that began on his 1916 vacation to Yosemite. It was there that he would return every summer, taking pictures, and excelling at his newfound hobby.
As time gradually passed, Ansel eventually married a woman by the name of Virginia Best. It was during this time period that Adams wavered between his two possible career choices, music and photography, with the latter being the final choice. His wife supported his love and obsession with photography although it wasn't so recognizable but instead seen more commonly as an absurd pastime.