Ansel Adams (1902-1984)
@ansel-adams.bsky.social
Creative photographer & environmental advocate. This official account is managed by The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust.
linktr.ee/anseladams
www.anseladamsbooks.com
linktr.ee/anseladams
www.anseladamsbooks.com
“My picture of the statue at the Long Beach cemetery…was done as a quasi-surrealistic thing. I just saw the improbability of this weeping angel & the oil derricks. It had no definite meaning. . . People read into that all kind of things. . .
October 11, 2025 at 4:35 PM
“My picture of the statue at the Long Beach cemetery…was done as a quasi-surrealistic thing. I just saw the improbability of this weeping angel & the oil derricks. It had no definite meaning. . . People read into that all kind of things. . .
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” — LBJ
Sept 29, 1965, White House Rose Garden: President Johnson presents Ansel Adams with a pen from the signing of the Arts & Humanities Act.
*To defend the arts is to protect our democracy.*
Sept 29, 1965, White House Rose Garden: President Johnson presents Ansel Adams with a pen from the signing of the Arts & Humanities Act.
*To defend the arts is to protect our democracy.*
September 29, 2025 at 2:38 PM
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” — LBJ
Sept 29, 1965, White House Rose Garden: President Johnson presents Ansel Adams with a pen from the signing of the Arts & Humanities Act.
*To defend the arts is to protect our democracy.*
Sept 29, 1965, White House Rose Garden: President Johnson presents Ansel Adams with a pen from the signing of the Arts & Humanities Act.
*To defend the arts is to protect our democracy.*
“We were in the shadow of the mountains, the light was cool and quiet & no wind was stirring. The aspen trunks were slightly greenish and the leaves were a vibrant yellow. The forest floor was covered with a tangle of russet shrubs. It was very quiet.” — A.A.
‘Aspens, Northern New Mexico,’ 1958.
‘Aspens, Northern New Mexico,’ 1958.
September 28, 2025 at 5:06 PM
“We were in the shadow of the mountains, the light was cool and quiet & no wind was stirring. The aspen trunks were slightly greenish and the leaves were a vibrant yellow. The forest floor was covered with a tangle of russet shrubs. It was very quiet.” — A.A.
‘Aspens, Northern New Mexico,’ 1958.
‘Aspens, Northern New Mexico,’ 1958.
Brooding skies over Monument Valley…🏜
It’s summer 2025, but we’re already curating AA’s 2027 calendars. This 1937 photograph is on our short list for November. Picture it printed in rich duotone at 10x13”—too moody or perfect for the season?
Also: 2026 calendars are now LIVE! Link in bio)
🤠📆
It’s summer 2025, but we’re already curating AA’s 2027 calendars. This 1937 photograph is on our short list for November. Picture it printed in rich duotone at 10x13”—too moody or perfect for the season?
Also: 2026 calendars are now LIVE! Link in bio)
🤠📆
August 30, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Brooding skies over Monument Valley…🏜
It’s summer 2025, but we’re already curating AA’s 2027 calendars. This 1937 photograph is on our short list for November. Picture it printed in rich duotone at 10x13”—too moody or perfect for the season?
Also: 2026 calendars are now LIVE! Link in bio)
🤠📆
It’s summer 2025, but we’re already curating AA’s 2027 calendars. This 1937 photograph is on our short list for November. Picture it printed in rich duotone at 10x13”—too moody or perfect for the season?
Also: 2026 calendars are now LIVE! Link in bio)
🤠📆
‘Petroglyphs, Monument Valley, Utah,’ 1958. Photograph by Ansel Adams.
August 29, 2025 at 5:34 PM
‘Petroglyphs, Monument Valley, Utah,’ 1958. Photograph by Ansel Adams.
A glimpse of how photographic chemistry shaped Ansel’s early vision circa 1925:
Left: Mount Clarence King, Pool — panchromatic plate (records red, green, blue). Clouds appear dramatic.
Right: Kearsarge Pinnacles — orthochromatic plate (no red sensitivity). Sky washes out.
#worldphotographyday
Left: Mount Clarence King, Pool — panchromatic plate (records red, green, blue). Clouds appear dramatic.
Right: Kearsarge Pinnacles — orthochromatic plate (no red sensitivity). Sky washes out.
#worldphotographyday
August 19, 2025 at 3:47 PM
A glimpse of how photographic chemistry shaped Ansel’s early vision circa 1925:
Left: Mount Clarence King, Pool — panchromatic plate (records red, green, blue). Clouds appear dramatic.
Right: Kearsarge Pinnacles — orthochromatic plate (no red sensitivity). Sky washes out.
#worldphotographyday
Left: Mount Clarence King, Pool — panchromatic plate (records red, green, blue). Clouds appear dramatic.
Right: Kearsarge Pinnacles — orthochromatic plate (no red sensitivity). Sky washes out.
#worldphotographyday
Ansel’s political life didn’t happen behind a camera — he made art for its own sake. Alongside his career as a photographer, he had a 2nd career as an activist: meetings, phone calls, letters, lobbying. Sometimes his images helped the cause. More often, the work was all words, strategy, persistence.
August 8, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Ansel’s political life didn’t happen behind a camera — he made art for its own sake. Alongside his career as a photographer, he had a 2nd career as an activist: meetings, phone calls, letters, lobbying. Sometimes his images helped the cause. More often, the work was all words, strategy, persistence.
A Sunday morning meditation…
“Trees, Slide Lake, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming,” c. 1965. Photograph by Ansel Adams. © The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust.
“Trees, Slide Lake, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming,” c. 1965. Photograph by Ansel Adams. © The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust.
July 13, 2025 at 4:33 PM
A Sunday morning meditation…
“Trees, Slide Lake, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming,” c. 1965. Photograph by Ansel Adams. © The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust.
“Trees, Slide Lake, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming,” c. 1965. Photograph by Ansel Adams. © The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust.
“Let us never forget that the National Park Service…is not securely incorporated in the Constitution of the United States. Hence, it is vulnerable to erosion & destruction by legislative action. . . Obviously, eternal vigilance must therefore be the essential attitude of all our people.” - A.A.
July 6, 2025 at 4:48 PM
“Let us never forget that the National Park Service…is not securely incorporated in the Constitution of the United States. Hence, it is vulnerable to erosion & destruction by legislative action. . . Obviously, eternal vigilance must therefore be the essential attitude of all our people.” - A.A.
“The artist and the creative intellectual MUST examine himself and his relation to society as a whole, and by positive assertions and example give the people at large a more satisfactory understanding of the importance of art and the creative spirit.”—A.A.🇺🇸 (8/8)
July 4, 2025 at 4:33 PM
“The artist and the creative intellectual MUST examine himself and his relation to society as a whole, and by positive assertions and example give the people at large a more satisfactory understanding of the importance of art and the creative spirit.”—A.A.🇺🇸 (8/8)
“We must keep our cool and our dignity and fight like hell!” —A.A.
Letter for the ‘Opinion’ Page of the San Jose Mercury News (subsequently reproduced in Knight Ridder Newspapers nationwide). Published April 28, 1981.
Letter for the ‘Opinion’ Page of the San Jose Mercury News (subsequently reproduced in Knight Ridder Newspapers nationwide). Published April 28, 1981.
July 2, 2025 at 3:36 PM
“We must keep our cool and our dignity and fight like hell!” —A.A.
Letter for the ‘Opinion’ Page of the San Jose Mercury News (subsequently reproduced in Knight Ridder Newspapers nationwide). Published April 28, 1981.
Letter for the ‘Opinion’ Page of the San Jose Mercury News (subsequently reproduced in Knight Ridder Newspapers nationwide). Published April 28, 1981.
“Ansel Adams, Photographer,” circa 1930. Photographed by Dorothea Lange.
Film negative
Gift of Paul S. Taylor
5 in x 4 in
A67.137.898
© The Dorothea Lange Collection, the Oakland Museum of California
#anseladams
#dorothealange
#historyofphotography
#1930s
@oaklandmuseumca
Film negative
Gift of Paul S. Taylor
5 in x 4 in
A67.137.898
© The Dorothea Lange Collection, the Oakland Museum of California
#anseladams
#dorothealange
#historyofphotography
#1930s
@oaklandmuseumca
May 25, 2025 at 3:36 PM
“Ansel Adams, Photographer,” circa 1930. Photographed by Dorothea Lange.
Film negative
Gift of Paul S. Taylor
5 in x 4 in
A67.137.898
© The Dorothea Lange Collection, the Oakland Museum of California
#anseladams
#dorothealange
#historyofphotography
#1930s
@oaklandmuseumca
Film negative
Gift of Paul S. Taylor
5 in x 4 in
A67.137.898
© The Dorothea Lange Collection, the Oakland Museum of California
#anseladams
#dorothealange
#historyofphotography
#1930s
@oaklandmuseumca
‘Alfred Stieglitz at an American Place, New York, New York,’ c. 1945. Photograph by Ansel Adams
As reproduced in “Ansel Adams In Color,” edited by Harry M. Callahan, Little, Brown & Company
©️The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
As reproduced in “Ansel Adams In Color,” edited by Harry M. Callahan, Little, Brown & Company
©️The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
May 19, 2025 at 3:06 PM
‘Alfred Stieglitz at an American Place, New York, New York,’ c. 1945. Photograph by Ansel Adams
As reproduced in “Ansel Adams In Color,” edited by Harry M. Callahan, Little, Brown & Company
©️The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
As reproduced in “Ansel Adams In Color,” edited by Harry M. Callahan, Little, Brown & Company
©️The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
‘Hands weaving magnetic-core memory, IBM, Poughkeepsie, New York,’ 1956. Photograph by Ansel Adams.
This photograph was made on a commercial assignment for IBM.
This photograph was made on a commercial assignment for IBM.
May 17, 2025 at 4:58 PM
‘Hands weaving magnetic-core memory, IBM, Poughkeepsie, New York,’ 1956. Photograph by Ansel Adams.
This photograph was made on a commercial assignment for IBM.
This photograph was made on a commercial assignment for IBM.
“I would not want “post-card” realism, but I would enjoy “enhancements” of the colors which I fear is not possible with conventional material today.... The scope of control with the electronic image has not been explored, but I feel confident astonishing developments await us in this area.” —A.A.
May 1, 2025 at 5:27 PM
“I would not want “post-card” realism, but I would enjoy “enhancements” of the colors which I fear is not possible with conventional material today.... The scope of control with the electronic image has not been explored, but I feel confident astonishing developments await us in this area.” —A.A.
A simple invitation on Arbor Day: Find a moment to touch the bark of a tree, look closely at its details, breathe deeply…
🌲Happy Arbor Day🌲
‘Yellow Pine Bark and Pine Needles, Yosemite National Park, California,’ 1972. Photograph by Ansel Adams. ©️The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
🌲Happy Arbor Day🌲
‘Yellow Pine Bark and Pine Needles, Yosemite National Park, California,’ 1972. Photograph by Ansel Adams. ©️The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
April 25, 2025 at 2:34 PM
A simple invitation on Arbor Day: Find a moment to touch the bark of a tree, look closely at its details, breathe deeply…
🌲Happy Arbor Day🌲
‘Yellow Pine Bark and Pine Needles, Yosemite National Park, California,’ 1972. Photograph by Ansel Adams. ©️The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
🌲Happy Arbor Day🌲
‘Yellow Pine Bark and Pine Needles, Yosemite National Park, California,’ 1972. Photograph by Ansel Adams. ©️The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
In Memory of Ansel Adams
February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984
🌎 Every Day is Earth Day 🌍
📷: “Ansel Adams in action teaching at Tenaya Lake, Yosemite National Park, June, 1979. A wonderful day for everyone in the workshop.”
Photograph and caption copyright ©️ C Bill Youngblood, 1979.
February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984
🌎 Every Day is Earth Day 🌍
📷: “Ansel Adams in action teaching at Tenaya Lake, Yosemite National Park, June, 1979. A wonderful day for everyone in the workshop.”
Photograph and caption copyright ©️ C Bill Youngblood, 1979.
April 22, 2025 at 2:48 PM
In Memory of Ansel Adams
February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984
🌎 Every Day is Earth Day 🌍
📷: “Ansel Adams in action teaching at Tenaya Lake, Yosemite National Park, June, 1979. A wonderful day for everyone in the workshop.”
Photograph and caption copyright ©️ C Bill Youngblood, 1979.
February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984
🌎 Every Day is Earth Day 🌍
📷: “Ansel Adams in action teaching at Tenaya Lake, Yosemite National Park, June, 1979. A wonderful day for everyone in the workshop.”
Photograph and caption copyright ©️ C Bill Youngblood, 1979.
Wishing a joyful spring season to all who celebrate Easter today, and a peaceful weekend to everyone. May this time of renewal bring brightness to all!
‘Begonia, Santa Cruz, California,’ 1950. Photograph by Ansel Adams for LIFE Magazine.
‘Begonia, Santa Cruz, California,’ 1950. Photograph by Ansel Adams for LIFE Magazine.
April 20, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Wishing a joyful spring season to all who celebrate Easter today, and a peaceful weekend to everyone. May this time of renewal bring brightness to all!
‘Begonia, Santa Cruz, California,’ 1950. Photograph by Ansel Adams for LIFE Magazine.
‘Begonia, Santa Cruz, California,’ 1950. Photograph by Ansel Adams for LIFE Magazine.
Home movie footage shot on April 10, 1927 by one of Ansel’s hiking companions, his then-fiancée Virginia Best.
All rights reserved.
All rights reserved.
April 10, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Home movie footage shot on April 10, 1927 by one of Ansel’s hiking companions, his then-fiancée Virginia Best.
All rights reserved.
All rights reserved.
Happy “Birthday” to one of Ansel’s most storied images and creative breakthroughs—‘Monolith, The Face of Half Dome’—photographed on April 10, 1927. Ansel was just 25 years old.
(Courtesy of The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust. All rights reserved.)
(Courtesy of The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust. All rights reserved.)
April 10, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Happy “Birthday” to one of Ansel’s most storied images and creative breakthroughs—‘Monolith, The Face of Half Dome’—photographed on April 10, 1927. Ansel was just 25 years old.
(Courtesy of The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust. All rights reserved.)
(Courtesy of The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust. All rights reserved.)
‘Fern Leaves, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington,’ 1942. Photograph by Ansel Adams.
March 24, 2025 at 5:10 PM
‘Fern Leaves, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington,’ 1942. Photograph by Ansel Adams.
“A ghetto is as shameful as a vandalized wilderness. A starved & depleted agricultural area is as reprehensible as a ruined forest. A society which has lost many of its ethical guidelines cannot keep its political & social house in order.” — A.A.
www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...
@metmuseum.org
www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...
@metmuseum.org
March 23, 2025 at 5:45 PM
“A ghetto is as shameful as a vandalized wilderness. A starved & depleted agricultural area is as reprehensible as a ruined forest. A society which has lost many of its ethical guidelines cannot keep its political & social house in order.” — A.A.
www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...
@metmuseum.org
www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...
@metmuseum.org
“We need a return to the spirit of the madrigals, of the communal participation and joy of creating beauty in every form.” — A.A.
“Morning Glories, Massachusetts,” 1958. Photograph by Ansel Adams. ©️ The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust.
“Morning Glories, Massachusetts,” 1958. Photograph by Ansel Adams. ©️ The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust.
March 21, 2025 at 2:23 PM
“We need a return to the spirit of the madrigals, of the communal participation and joy of creating beauty in every form.” — A.A.
“Morning Glories, Massachusetts,” 1958. Photograph by Ansel Adams. ©️ The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust.
“Morning Glories, Massachusetts,” 1958. Photograph by Ansel Adams. ©️ The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust.
“The artist should aggressively assert the beauty of the world, the ennobling objectives of life, and he should and can project a tangible realization of the ideal.” —A.A.
March 17, 2025 at 2:13 PM
“The artist should aggressively assert the beauty of the world, the ennobling objectives of life, and he should and can project a tangible realization of the ideal.” —A.A.
