by STEVEN HOELSCHER
The first time I encountered the photography of Ansel Adams wasn’t in a museum gallery, but during a college course. I remember the moment well. The course, “Wilderness and the American Mind,” introduced me to that critical, contested concept through a wide range of memorable texts. In good American Studies fashion, we dove into writing by Thoreau, of course, but also by the novelist Willa Cather, the poet Gary Snyder, the biologist Rachel Carson, the historian William Cronon, the philosopher Carolyn Merchant, the geographer Yi-Fu Tuan—and the photography of Ansel Adams.
As much as anything that I read, the 35-millimeter slides that I viewed in that course affected me in far-reaching and unpredictable ways. I became aware, probably for the first time, of photography as an art form. But my fascination with Adams’s photographs was deeper and, I think, more interesting than merely aesthetic; rather, I was seeing images that inspired me, that moved me, that made me want to explore the natural world in a way that art previously hadn’t. As if to demonstrate that point, the following winter, in early February 1985, several friends and I skied into Yosemite National Park and camped there for a week, including at the spectacular area around Glacier Point. I can’t say that I went to Yosemite because of Ansel Adams, but I sometimes wonder if his photographs didn’t play a role, however subliminal, in inspiring that ski backpacking trip.
I mention my personal encounter with Adams’s photographs because a version of that experience, however idiosyncratic, is one that I often hear in conversations. By the mid-1980s, his photographs had become so widely available, so ubiquitous, so much part of the cultural ether that it was almost impossible not to stumble across them.
Since then, I’ve learned a lot about Ansel Adams, and I have a much better sense of why his photographs moved me so profoundly. I understand how his work both fit into the canon of photographic history and served as an inspiration for the environmental movement. And I’ve seen the magical power of Adams’s prints: how they, more than any other format, present his photographic images in exquisitely wrought detail that demands attention.
Adams himself described his approach to picture-making as one of “visualization”—the photographic expression of what the environment looks and feels like to the artist. “The first step towards visualization, and hence toward expressive interpretation,” Adams said, “is to become aware of the world around us in terms of the photographic image. We must teach our eyes to become more perceptive.”
This philosophy is the foundation for an exhibition that explores how photographers have shaped the visual narrative of the American environment, starting with Ansel Adams. His photographs of pristine nature, captured with razor-sharp focus, subtle gradations of light and dark, and deep recessions of space, remain some of the most iconic environmental images of our time.
Before Adams, commercial photographers aimed to showcase dramatic landscapes to distant viewers, while government photographers documented the expansive western territories recently claimed by the United States. These early “view” photographers laid the groundwork that Adams would later build upon, but it was Adams’s ability to evoke both the beauty and the fragility of nature that left an indelible mark on the field.
A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.
—ANSEL ADAMS
One of the earliest examples of Adams’s work that crystallized his artistic vision is the 1929 Sierra Club Outing portfolio. Consisting of unbound photographic prints, this collection, painstakingly produced by Adams in his darkroom, reflected both his personal experiences and his evolving style. The portfolio’s 25 photographs, taken during the Sierra Club’s annual “outing” in the mountains surrounding Yosemite, offer a glimpse into Adams’s early artistic impulses. The bold shapes and clean lines demonstrate a modernist sensibility, while the matte, textured paper gives the images a soft, almost ethereal quality. Among these works, the 1927 masterpiece Monolith, the Face of Half Dome stands out as a defining piece from this period.
Adams’s deep connection to Yosemite, first visited in 1916, was pivotal in shaping his photographic career. The grandeur of Yosemite’s high mountain peaks, rushing waterfalls, and ever-changing atmosphere became the foundation of his work. The place wasn’t just a subject for Adams; it was a source of spiritual and artistic inspiration. His early snapshots from this trip, taken with a Kodak Brownie camera, may not be considered art by traditional standards, but they marked the beginning of a lifelong relationship with the landscape that would define his career.
As Adams’s career progressed, so did his photographic style. By the early 1940s, his work had evolved into what is now recognized as his mature style. He began to focus on capturing the drama and majesty of the environment, often seeking out scenes that highlighted the dynamic interplay of light, weather, and landforms. This shift in approach allowed Adams to create images that evoked a sense of awe and reverence for the natural world.
One of the most compelling aspects of Adams’s photography is his intentional exclusion of human presence in his landscapes. This choice was not a mere coincidence but a deliberate effort to inspire viewers to see the environment as something pure and untouched. “A great photograph,” Adams once said, “is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.” For Adams, his photography was a way to convey the intense, almost mystical, experience of being in the natural world.
Adams’s legacy extends beyond his photographs. He was a master of the photographic techniques of the nineteenth century, yet he was also a twentieth-century advocate for photography as a fine art. His belief in the power of photographic visualization to inspire reverence for the environment set him apart from his predecessors. While many early photographers focused on topographical or commercial views, Adams’s work was rooted in an artistic and environmental ethos that continues to resonate today.
For photographers who have come after Adams, his legacy looms large. His immeasurable influence on both the photographic and environmentalist worlds began early but did not go unchallenged. Even at the beginning of his career, as Adams was developing his recognizable style, other photographers visualized the environment in quite different ways. For many contemporary photographers, Adams’s legacy represents both a debt and a burden. The photographer Mark Klett, for example, describes how Adams helped both raise environmental consciousness and prove that photography could be a powerful medium for that project. At the same time, by removing evidence of the human impact on the earth, Adams presented a romanticized vision of a lost world. “The reality of place,” Klett says, “is quite different” from what one sees in an Ansel Adams photograph. Expanding on this key point became a central argument of the exhibition.
Adams’s work remains a vital part of American visual culture, as evidenced by the U.S. Postal Service’s recent release of 16 Forever stamps featuring his photographs. But more importantly, his legacy continues to inspire and challenge how we see and interact with the environment. His photographs are not just beautiful images; they are powerful statements about the relationship between humanity and the natural world.
The legacy of Ansel Adams is not just about celebrating past achievements but also about reflecting on how we visualize and consequently treat our environment today. His work remains a crucial part of the conversation about cultural values and environmental responsibility, a testament to the power of visual arts in shaping public perception and policy.
Dr. Steven D. Hoelscher, Harry Ransom Center Faculty Curator for Photography and Stiles Professor of American Studies and Geography, curated the exhibition Visualizing the Environment: Ansel Adams and His Legacy.