Adams was commissioned by the National Parks Service in 1941 to create a photographic mural that would depict the land protected by the parks. These murals would be used to decorate the walls of a new building to house the Department of the Interior. The project was halted at the beginning of WWII and was never revisited.
Adams' photographs depict his love of landscape. No other photographer has captured the beauty of our country the way that Adams did. The viewer can actually feel Adams' adoration coming through the photograph. While in Yellowstone, Adams captured iconic images of Old Faithful as well as many other profound images throughout the park. While viewing them, one can see "precisely there does it have the certain character of god." (Momaday 210.)
Adams dedicated his life to the environment and the preservation of natural landscapes. He became a member of the Sierra Club at the young age of seventeen and remained a member throughout his life. He served on the board for over 30 years.
Adams is best known for his work in Yosemite National Park. He first visited the park as a child where his father gave him a camera to record the trip. It is at this point where Adams became enamored with photography and became an ardent student of the craft.
The following photograph by Adams is labeled Tetongs and the Snake River . When I view this piece I am reminded that "there is a perfect freedom in the mountains, but it belongs to the eagle and the elk, the badger and the bear." (Momaday 210.)
No other artist captured the American West in photograph like Ansel Adams. At the time of his death in 1984, Adams was considered the Master of photography.
Work Cited
www.archives.gov/research/ansel-adams/ infowww.fotos.org
www.iamjapanese.tumblr.com
Momaday, N. Scott " ‘Introduction’ from The Way to Rainy Mountain" 1968.
The Literary West; An Anthology of Western American Literature
www.research.archives.gov/description/519993
www.wildernessventures.com
