Ansel Adams: An Autobiography

Customer Reviews:

A superb chronicle of a truly artistic life.......2007-10-02

This is one of the only books I have ever read where I limited myself to three pages of text a night; it was so good, I wanted to savor it as long as possible.
The photos speak for themselves; far beyond what words can express, some of these images capture the deepest truths about the American landscape.
Ansel is a good writer and a great thinker. His love for nature and music is profound, and reading of his many successful battles for the preservation of some of the world's finest places makes you just love the guy.
Whatever personal details may be missing are more than compensated for by the endless beauty within these pages. I would read three pages and then spend half an hour just falling into two or three photos. Adams' eye for light and composition and meaning is incomparable. These photos are sensual delights, with deep love attached.
Ansel also inspired me to spend serious time in Big Sur and Yosemite; for that I will always love him, and especially for his tireless work in protecting both of these most amazing of places.
What a special man.
If you can, get the first edition hardcover, it's well worth the extra bucks. The prints are as good as any fine art book you've ever seen. Later editions and the paperback are excellent, but are a step down from the first edition. You'll revisit this book many times and want to pass it on to your kids; get the best version you can.

Lots of Insight - What about his family?.......2007-04-09

As an aspiring photography this is a great read. I was unaware of all of the environmental works Adams performed and the struggles he endured to make photography a recognized art form. I found that the last page of most chapters provided some of the most insight from Adams, and perhaps the editor formed the back that way. Hearing his philosophies on life and the various people he admired and appreciated (Albert Bender) was enjoyable to read. What seemed to be a glaring omission, or maybe not, was discussion about his family. There is almost no mention of his children and I think no mention of his feelings for them or his wife. Maybe the intent of the book was to focus on photography.

Great bio, but one thing people should know........2007-01-10

Ansel Adams work is a treasure. I am a descendent of the original Indians of Yosemite and there is a problem. The defintion "Some of them are killers" for Yosemite was fabricated in 1978 and is not the original meaning of Yosemite. The real meaning was "The Killers" or "The Grizzlies" because the Miwoks were afraid of the Ahwahnees. It was Chief Bautista and Russio, who were helping the Mariposa Battalion, who coined that term "Yosemite" for the Indians in Yosemite Valley which they were afraid to enter. It is because the Miwoks were once enemies of Chief Tenaya and the Ahwahnees. 30 years Yosemite National Park Service hired a person named Craig Bates who was married to a Miwok woman and had a 1/2 Miwok son who created that new defintion. So it is increble that ONE person changed the meaning and defintion of one of the most important and well known parks in the whold world...and no one noticed.

Both enlightening and inspiring.......2005-11-29

While this book is about Ansel Adams, it is also about the struggle to make photography a recognized form of art. If you have any interest at all about the non-technical history of photography, I would highly recommend this book.

There is much more here than just the thoughts and ideas of one man. Each of the people that influenced Adams are described in detail, and in doing so, Adams provides a much needed background for the modern history of photography. Adams was fortunate enough to be able to work with a diverse and creative group of people at a time when the art world was expanding into new mediums. He worked with many now-famous photographers, painters, philanthropists, and institutions, and his experiences with them give the reader a very strong base from which to asses these very important ideas and movements. In reading this book, I was able to greatly improve the depth of my understanding of photography as art, as well as improve my understanding of the contributions of a number of other photographers. I was both inspired and encouraged by reading how much hard work and unending effort these photographers went through to ensure that photography would be recognized as an art form.

Another poster questioned whether Adams worked with the content of this book to cast himself in the best light. While this is quite possible, what is included does no so much focus on Ansel Adams the man as it does on his main goal in life, making photography a recognized art form. Everyone has personal issues to some degree, and I am sure that Ansel, being human, was no exception. But those problems are just that, personal, and would be tangental to what Ansel saw as the focus of his life. Everyone has faults so there is really no reason to enumerate them in print unless you are attempting to make yourself feel better by highlighting the faults of others.

I would strongly recommend this book for anyone who appreciates photography, history, and the arts, as well as those that would like to gain a better understanding of a very creative photographer. Of all the books about, or by, Ansel Adams that I have read, this is the one book that I would put at the top of the required reading list. It is also one of the best books about the modern history of photography I have read to date. I really cannot recommend it strongly enough.

Of Legends and Myths.......2002-02-05

Perhaps I missed the point. As anyone who reads a book about Ansel Adams, I am also a great fan of his work, and like many others too, a photographer with no claim to fame.

The amount of interesting information in this book regarding the life of Ansel Adams is wonderful. The people he knew, the places he's been, and the struggles he's undertaken are all part of a dazzling portrait of the man we do not know simply from looking at his work. It is a book which provides historicaly interesting snapshots from his life (literally, and figuratively), and lets us see glimpses of the lives of other great artists too.

What I found unpleasant was getting to know someone I may not have liked as a colleague or friend. The opinions or thoughts which flow from the pages of this this autobiographical are not always as polished as the photos we have come to know and love. In fairness, the man is not his work, and the work, likewise, is not who he is as a person. I have seen them both now, and prefer the work over the man (at least as he presented himself to me). I also thought that many of the events or persons which Adams spoke of where ALMOST done so by way of 'name dropping' in order to gain attention for himself (i.e. 'see who I know'). This was unnecasary I thought, and only made me wonder why he felt a need to do it that way, if indeed it was intentional.

I was particularly troubled by one of his closing observations on the value of photography as a fine art form, and how a photograph is, beyond all others, the most difficult form of art there is to create. I should think Michael Angelo, Monet, Picaso, or hundreds of other amazing artists through the ages may be inclined to a different viewpoint, even if they wouldn't admit to it.

Book Description

In his 1985 autobiography, Ansel Adams presented a life almost as neatly cropped and printed as his magnificent pictures. Here, Mary Street Alinder--who collaborated with Adams on his memoir and was his assistant in later life--is not reticent about the major emotional episodes in Adams's life, including his marriage and extramarital affairs, and his not-altogether-successful fatherhood. She explores the major artistic influences on his work and gives in-depth profiles of the significant figures in his circle. She also explains the technique and style Adams developed to obtain his unique vision, as well as his uneasiness at becoming a commodity. Ansel Adams: A Biography is an intimate and provocative portrait of the world's most famous photographer.

Customer Reviews:

An outstanding biography.......2003-04-13

Rarely do I start rereading a book immediately after I finish the last page, and it is even more rare for the book to be a biography. Mary Street Alinder's biography of Ansel Adams is one of these.

I have studied and admired Ansel Adams' photography for many years: his mastery of composition and virtuosity in the darkroom are unrivaled. His books on photographic and darkroom technique are well read and have a prominent place in my technical library. I did not know anything about Ansel Adams the man.

Mary Street Alinder was Adams' assistant during the final years of his life, becoming a close confidant and co-authoring his autobiography and later collecting and publishing his letters. In that unique position she had access to almost 70 years of correspondence, tens of thousands unprinted negatives, and more important of all close access to Ansel and his family.

The image of Adams that develops through the pages of the book is a difficult one to interpret. His friendships with other photographers, naturalists, and numerous female assistants were deep and life long (though in the case of the latter never intimate). His relationship to his family was a different matter, and this is where the difficulty lies: Ansel was first and foremost dedicated to, if not obsessed by, his art, at the expense of his wife and children. In this he comes through as less than likable. But it also becomes clear that inside Ansel was always a child, excited by all around him and exuberant with life and a single self-centered focus towards doing what he could for the places he loved.

Alinder's writing is clear and concise. The organization of the book is not strictly chronological. Instead each chapter documents specific events, people, places, or photographs. This can be disconcerting at first, but it is an effective approach that leads to a more interesting read. Chapter 13, "Moonrise," is especially fascinating. It is Alinder's favorite picture, and she was fortunate enough to be in the darkroom with him as he made a print from the original negative. The description of Ansel's process is musical.

Alinder is not an apologist for Ansel's personality flaws: she presents him honestly, though not critically. The book is rife with citations: there are over 60 pages of notes supporting the story.

If you want insight into Ansel Adams the Photographer, the Naturalist, and most importantly, the Man, then I highly recommend this book.

A nice book...I just discovered I don't care much for Adams!.......2003-03-24

The book is interesting and quite well written, if you don't mind the non-chronology of it. I just came away thinking even less of Mr. Adams than I did going in and that was a let-down for me. I think some of his photographs are very pretty, but I would never call them art! They don't "move" me and neither did this book.

simplicty and thought.......1999-09-05

I thought it was very interesting it was of thought and simplicity it had lots of interseting perspectives about one's own life....

The real AA.......1999-04-11

Alinder has written a superb book, which for the first time, gives us the real Ansel Adams.

And here on the printed page we find what has been whispered about for decades: Ansel wasn't exactly a nice guy. Poor Virginia (his wife who tolerated his infidelity); poor Michael and Anne (his kids who rarely saw him).

Adams joins the ranks of Weston and Stieglitz, who we've also learned were not saints at all. Not even very nice people. But exceptionally gifted artists nonetheless.

Comprehensive biography, describing the real Ansel Adams.......1998-04-10

With the many monographs, existing biographies and the letters already published Mary Street Alinder provides an insight into the "real" Ansel Adams. Without destroying the legend, his life is shown as imperfect, human. This is the complete Adams, the great image-maker, the technical genius, environmentalist, pianist, social figure, but also alluding to a less than perfect personal life. Alinders' position as assistant has allowed her a unique perspective of the world's best-known photographer, the result is a book that is well-structured and entertaining to read. It shows where Adams fits into the greater picture, his associations with other photographers, figures in the art world and his political as well as social connections. The only weakness is the fully justified attack on the trustees of the Ansel Adams legacy; this may not be the place for such personal comments. Ansel Adams: A Biography is an excellent book, whether you think you know about Adams or have never heard of the great man.

Ansel Adams: Letters and Images, 1916-1984

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Amazing

Ansel Adams: Letters and Images, 1916-1984
Ansel Adams , Mary Street Alinder , and Andrea Gray Stillman
Manufacturer: Bulfinch Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0821216910

Customer Reviews:

Amazing.......2001-07-09

This is an amazing book with quotes and images.

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great gift
A great intro to a great photographer

Ansel Adams: America's Photographer
Beverly Gherman
Manufacturer: Little, Brown Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0316824453

Book Description

Revered throughout the world for his majestic photographs of towering mountain ranges, sheer cliffs, and incredible vistas, Ansel Adams led a rich life inspired by the miracles of nature. ANSEL ADAMS: AMERICA'S PHOTOGRAPHER takes us from the earthquake that broke his nose to the valley that shaped his world, revealing the humorous, artistic, and thoughtful personality behind his legendary work.

Customer Reviews:

great gift.......2005-10-13

Bought this book as a present to give with one of AA's photographs to a friend in Europe that is not familiar with AA's work. Haven't read the book myself but chose this book because it had both text about him and his life as well as photograhps of his work and really good reviews

A great intro to a great photographer.......2002-09-20

Even though this is sold as a children's book, it is beautifully produced with the full approval of the Ansel Adams Trust, and it provides an excellent introduction to this fascinating man who once thought he would become a classical pianist. Ms. Gherman discusses not only the events, people, and surroundings that influenced Ansel Adams's work but also his incredible impact on the art of photography and the places he photographed. This book is perfect for budding photographers and long-time admirers of Ansel Adams, especially those who might be a bit daunted by his very dense autobiography or his complex technical manuals. An insightful and interesting read about his life and art, full of wonderful photographs of and by Ansel.

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Ansel in a new light!
not what you think
ansel adams as artist--at last !

Ansel Adams: Divine Performance
Anne Hammond
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0300092415

Book Description

Ansel Adams's magnificent photographs of the American wilderness are recognized and admired the world over. Adams is also a major cultural figure in American history, shaping many of our current views of the natural world through his compelling and accessible images. Despite his significance, little scholarly attention has been paid to Adams's contributions as an artist or his place in photographic history. This handsome book addresses this gap by taking the first look beyond the photographer's reputation as a Sierra Club environmentalist and examining in depth his life as an artist and the complexities of his creative vision. Photo historian Anne Hammond provides a nuanced discussion of the evolution of Adams's landscape art and the aesthetic significance of his work. To set his landscape photographs in historical and philosophical context, Hammond traces the development of Adams's prints in relation to his artistic consciousness. She also offers insightful background on the contributions of scientific, literary, and artistic individuals who inspired Adams's journey in the arts, including scientists and philosophers Joseph LeConte and Alfred North Whitehead, writers Edward Carpenter and Ella Young, and photographers Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston, and Minor White. The concluding chapter of the book provides a detailed criticism of the photographer's best work and shows the relation between these images and their maker's ethical and artistic commitments. Admirers of Adams's photography as well as enthusiasts for the history of American photography and landscape studies will find this an essential volume for their libraries.

Customer Reviews:

Ansel in a new light!.......2006-05-12

Here you will find information and insight you simply won't find in other books about Ansel. This is not a biography as such but rather a selective investigation into what made Ansel tick. Hammond has brought to bear formidable research talents and excellent writing skills to expose the inner workings, development, aesthetics and strivings of Ansel Adams in fascinating detail. Most highly recommended.

not what you think.......2005-04-26

This book is NOT a biography of Anselm Adams or a "how-to take your own Anselm Adams-like photos" DIY. It has minimal biographical information (e.g., only 2 pictures of AA, including the cover photo, no information on his marriage or children, etc.). It does have a lot on the philisophical background of AA and his friends that led them to take and value the kind of images they made and admired, and reproduces many images made by AA and friends. It's a good book for what it is, but before you buy it, make sure that this is what you want.

ansel adams as artist--at last !.......2004-04-27

To be an artist a great many thoughts have to pass through your head -in the case of photography, through the lens first into your eye. What this book shows,like no other before it on Adams, is that he was not just( ! ) a master craftsman ,but also a person with a true philosophical turn of mind, carrying him into a spiritual realm to put him on the heights with Scriabin, William James, Edward Carpenter, Alfred Stieglitz, and other leaders in the non-doctrinal world of humane and progressive traditon of turn-of-the-century theosophy. A mind-opener!

Ansel Adams and the American Landscape: A Biography

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Superlative Biography
An excellent biography
In search of the landscape as essential...

Ansel Adams and the American Landscape: A Biography
Jonathan Spaulding
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0520216636

Book Description

Working with a cumbersome 8 x 10 field camera, Ansel Adams (1902-1984) created some of the most dramatic and influential photographs ever made of the American West. His majestic landscapes and evocative still lifes conveyed a vision of an idealized America that helped inspire the wilderness conservation movement. Yet despite these accomplishments, Adams has been the least studied of our most important photographers. Now Jonathan Spaulding provides the first full biography of the artist and a critical analysis of his life's work.
Refuting the myth of a solitary and carefree wilderness explorer, Spaulding portrays a man grappling with the question of how art and nature intersect in the modern world. He addresses the contradictions the photographer faced as both artist and activist: his struggle to balance art and commercialism; his desire to create art, yet enjoy bourgeois comforts; his simultaneous support for economic development, tourism, and wilderness preservation.
Spaulding places Adams's work in the context of modernism and the other major developments in twentieth-century art and ideas. He examines his debt to the pioneering art photographers Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Steichen, and his response to later artists. He traces Adams's growth as an environmental activist and discusses his use of photography to further the cause of conservation.
Questions regarding the meaning and place of wilderness in modern culture remain with us today. By analyzing these issues through Adams's life and work, this book is a telling portrait of one of the century's greatest photographers and a reflection of our changing attitudes about the natural world.

Customer Reviews:

Superlative Biography.......2004-02-12

Ansel Adams and the American Landscape: A Biography by Jonathan Spaulding is a superlative biography of one of America's true icons. Spaulding does a magnificent job describing the evolution of Adams as a photographer, environmentalist and individual. In this, the book is more than just Adams' biography, but a history of the environmental movement and photography in America.

The only significant disappointment was the inability of Spaulding to utilize the actual Adams pictures when describing their creation. For instance, his description of the creation of Moon over Hernandez would have greatly benefitted from the ability of the reader to actually see the picture. However, unfortunately he was unable to obtain permission to utilize the photographs. While this is not Spaldings fault, it does limit the impact the of the narrative.

The most interesting part of the book was the evolution of 20th Century American photography. Adams cannot be separated from the development of photography in American and his life touched most of the great American photographers. Adams was constantly in conflict with many of them over the issue of quality versus the benefits of photojournalism. Adams saw photography as a high art form and was at odds with those who saw it as more as a story telling devise.

For those that are interested in Adams, environmentalism or photography this book is a must.

An excellent biography.......2003-05-04

Jonathan Spaulding's biography of Ansel Adams (or AA as people referred to him) provides a counterpoint to Mary Street Alinder's. While Alinder shows us Adams the Man first, with the influence of the American West and the Environmental Movement in a supporting role, these forces are prominent in Spaulding's work.

This is not to say that Spaulding does not talk about AA's private life, a pre-requisite for any biography, but does so only as it relates to AA's pursuit of photography and environmental causes. Absent, for example, are details of his relationship with his wife Virginia (which was quite complex: someone needs to write a biography of Virgina Best Adams in a way that Stacy Schiff wrote of Vera Nabokov) and the hard relationship with his children.

What Spaulding gives us instead is a very detailed account of the evolution of Adams' photographic vision and technique, and the influence of the American West on it. Through this you find his relationship to other important photographers and their influence on him and his styles: Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston, Dorothea Lange, and many others. We also see the influence of Western expansion throughout the first half of the 20th century, especially after WWII. In particular the seeming incongruity of AA producing pictures drawing people to the Western national parks while campaigning with the Sierra Club to limit the impact of tourists on Nature is discussed. The battle, falling out, and eventual reconciliation between Adams and David Brower is also detailed

If you are most interested in AA's life, read his autobiography or Alinder's biographry. If you want to know more about his influences and those things that he influenced, Spaulding's book is an excellent and readable choice. The book is heavily footnoted, with over 80 pages of notes, and contains a useful bibliography for anyone wishing to research further Adams' very interesting life.

As a footnote, the book does not include any pictures whose copyright is held by the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust, which refused to grant permission.

In search of the landscape as essential..........1999-12-27

This biography offers its readers a wide range of suggestions and examples how American landscape entered into the American cultural essence as an icon, a point of reference. Obvious that photographers could inhale deeper this magic: great prairies, majestic spaces of woods and water, and so on. Adams fought all his life for this searching, his adventure followed this last century, expecially for what's "preservation of nature and animals/plants nature contains". Thank you, Adams, from one among million walkers and photographers! Fred T. from Turin, Italy.

American Art Series: Ansel Adams (American Photographers Series)

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American Art Series: Ansel Adams (American Photographers Series)
Rh Value Publishing
Manufacturer: Crescent Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0517060345
Release Date: 1991-09-15

Master of Light: Ansel Adams and His Influences (Great Masters)

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I'd like a copy of this book!
Photographer buff

Master of Light: Ansel Adams and His Influences (Great Masters)
Therese Lichtenstein
Manufacturer: New Line Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1597641340

Customer Reviews:

I'd like a copy of this book!.......2000-01-24

Hi! My name is Theresa Therese! To whoever is listening, I'd really like a copy of this book when it is available! (That'll teach me for being so arrogant as to type my own name into a search engine! ... This was the no 1 result).

Photographer buff.......1999-12-29

The book was purchased for my teenage son who is very interested in black and white photography. He loves the book. A collection of Ansel Adams work in light and shadows in one book is worth more than the price. A must read.

Eye on the Wild: A Story About Ansel Adams (Creative Minds Biographies)

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Eye on the Wild: A Story About Ansel Adams (Creative Minds Biographies)
Julie Dunlap
Manufacturer: Carolrhoda Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0876149441

Ansel Adams: American Artist With a Camera (People to Know)

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Ansel Adams: American Artist With a Camera (People to Know)
Joel Strangis
Manufacturer: Enslow Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 0766018474

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