Adams, Ansel (1902 - 1984)
After meeting Paul Strand, Ansel Adams studies photography and promptly begins to explore Native Americans’ lands and depict their glorious wild west territories. With his black and white images, the American photographer not only captured, in an innovative manner, outdoor mysterious and impressive sceneries, but also arduously fought for the preservation of nature, influencing local inhabitants and the American government. Thanks to his seductive photographs, Ansel Adams helped establish the protection and conservation of national parcs such as the Yosemite National Park and thus earned the Conservation Service Award, in 1968. Often criticized for not including human subjects in his images, the photographer was nonetheless celebrated as an environmental folk hero who yearned for immense organic spaces. Surely, Ansel Adams never promoted a man versus wild debate but desired to promote an existence in which both were strongly respected.