Ansel Adams: Frozen Beauty

Ansel Adams is a name that is knownlovers of art photography all over the world. California photographer, almost the same age of the century, born in 1902 and lived a long life full of creativity, Adams captured on the film everything that attracted his eyes.

Portraits of contemporaries and grandiosearchitectural structures, the frozen cityscapes of industrial America and, of course, the wildlife. It is landscape photographs, made almost always in monochrome, allowed to enter the history of the name Ansel Adams.

Biography of the artist originates inCalifornia, where in the early 20th century he was born into a happy, wealthy family that had already given up hope of an heir. Parents, heirs of the timber business, which began the great-grandfather of Ansel, had no desire in the son of the soul, but brought him up modestly, with love to the world around him and his native nature.

early years

Being a late and beloved child, the future geniusphotos grew morbid, from which he was incapable of sporting achievements and, rarely attending school, had a hard time making friends, preferring loneliness to them. At the age of 4, he broke his nose and, beginning to feel shy of his face, became even more shy. Did not help little Ansel's life and inability to learn to read and write well because of dyslexia.

In the end, the father and mother decidedto teach him at home and taken away from school, which affected his entire life, inextricably linked with the majestic nature of America. Father spent long walks with the child, instilling in him a love for animals, insects and plants.

The first steps in profession

When the boy was 14 years old, the family tookit is Yosemite National Park. For a walk he took with him a camera donated by his father, and after that he began to take a great interest in filming seriously, visiting exhibitions, writing out magazines and joining a club of photo lovers. This moment can be considered the beginning of his life as a photographer. The charm of nature so struck Ansel, that all his further life he every year came to the park with a camera and a tripod, making more and more new pictures.

One year before majority, Ansel Adams becamea member of the Sierra Club, whose work was to protect natural monuments and fight for the preservation of the environment. The club will be his home for many years. Within his walls he will find like-minded people and will meet future wife Virginia, will participate in the conquest of the Sierra Nevada mountains, and later he will become the director himself.

Creative throwing and first successes

The creative nature of the maturing young man could notto stop at one thing, and soon he began to study music, learning to play the piano and getting acquainted with many artists. Despite the new hobby, Ansel did not forget about photography: in the cold season he gave himself completely to music, and spent three summer months in photographic walks. His work began to publish, but the dream of a musician's career did not leave Ansel.

At the age of 25, Ansel Adams created his firstportfolio, which by right was proud and which gained a deserved success. He was estimated at 4,000 dollars. Businessmen, rich people and celebrities have become regular customers of his pictures. It developed as a photographer, experimenting with different artistic styles, stopped on realism, which became the hallmark of his work.

Having married, Ansel together with his wife created instudio of her father's gallery, which will become the most famous in the world. Then he realized that he would not be a great musician any more, and gave himself completely to photography, spending more and more time behind the lens, and soon held the first exhibition.

Nature defender and master photography

Three-quarters of his life was dedicated to Ansel AdamsPhoto. Not even 40 years old, he began to respect the well-known and distinguished colleagues, and also created his famous "Zonal theory", in which he spoke about how to reproduce the tone in a monochrome picture. The theory permanently captured his name: today professional photographers use it to calculate the exposure.

Consultant "Polariod" and "Hasselband", authordozens of books on photo art, a member of the Academy of Sciences of America, who founded the first in the US Department of Art Photography and the magazine "Apertura", twice a fellow Guggenheim Foundation, in whose honor was named one of the mountains in Sierra Nevada - all this Ansel Adams.

Quotes of the master who created more than ten thousandphotos, characterized by impeccable technique and unforgettable composition, help to understand what was this extraordinary man who devoted himself to creativity and service to nature.