The surprising source of Ansel Adams' signature style

Ansel Adams' daring black-and-white landscapes of the American wilderness are so iconic that almost all people recognize an Adams photograph once they see one.

It might surprise you to learn that Adams didn't learn his craft by attending an elite art institution or apprenticed to a master photographer.

My book 2020: “Making a Photographer: The Early Work of Ansel Adams“depicts Adam's early years and shows how this self-taught expert learned from experience to discover his audience, refine his message, and infuse drama and emotion into his photographs. I discovered that the eight years he spent within the marketing department of the Yosemite Park and Curry Company—the only real provider of lodging, dining, and entertainment services to Yosemite National Park—had a very profound influence on his later work.

Although Ansel Adams is a widely known artist, almost nothing has been written about his work for the Yosemite Park and Curry Company or the way it influenced his profession.

Developing twin passions

San Francisco native Ansel Adams first visited Yosemite Valley in 1916 as a 14-year-old boy on a summer vacation along with his parents. Armed along with his Kodak Box Brownie CameraHe took photos of the waterfalls and rock formations.

Although he experimented with light and composition, his initial efforts were clearly those of an amateur. Although he continued to refine his photographic technique, He dreamed of someday becoming a concert pianist. For the subsequent decade, he returned to Yosemite National Park yearly to hike, camp, and take photos, and his passion for photography and the outside continued to grow.

Piano ultimately fell by the wayside: on the age of 28, he decided to develop into a photographer. However, at the moment there have been few skilled opportunities for photographers. Photographs haven’t been widely collected or exhibited, and popular picture magazines like this Life And Seek hadn't began yet.

So Adams searched for business jobs that will give him the chance to work as a photographer. This included portraiture, photographing houses and buildings for architects and interior designers, and taking promotional photos for corporations akin to wineries and banks.

Then, in 1929, Adams took a job that will have an unexpected and significant impact on his life as an artist: he was hired as a photographer the Yosemite Park and Curry Company.

Sell ​​Yosemite

The company wanted Adams to post eye-catching, fascinating photos to draw more tourists to Yosemite, and its marketing department advised Adams on probably the most effective approach to photography.

For example, in a letter, the top of the Yosemite Park and Curry Company instructed Adams that when photographing within the winter, only photograph trees and houses that were “heavy with freshly fallen snow.” Likewise, Adams was instructed to photograph only the best-dressed skaters using the Valley's rink.

Adams ended up photographing quite a lot of vacation pursuits, including sledding, dog sledding, horseback riding, fishing, golfing, and backcountry camping. He also photographed the striking views of the park. These images appeared in brochures and newspaper articles, on postcards and menus, and in a luxury souvenir book entitled “The Four Seasons of Yosemite National Park.” The job had many advantages for the photographer: income, the challenge of attracting more visitors to his beloved Yosemite National Park, and the chance to practice photography.

As with all types of promoting, the goal was persuasion. In Adams' photographs, the plot is simple to know, the setting is spectacular, and the composition is straightforward and focused, without distractions. The resulting images is also easily reproduced in a newspaper, magazine or glossy brochure. Particularly effective images showed people participating in Yosemite Park and Curry Company's tourism activities, with the park's stunning scenery as a backdrop.

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During his time at Yosemite Park and Curry Company, Adams was involved within the marketing process beyond just photography. He wrote captions for his images, worked on window displays promoting Yosemite, and advised on the design of souvenirs featuring his images.

From marketer to artist

At the top of 1937, Adams left the Yosemite Park and Curry Company to consider his wonderful art photography. As a passionate environmentalistAdams hoped that viewers of his photographs could be so impressed by the magnificence of nature that they might be compelled to explore and preserve it. The lessons he learned in promoting the park's activities were clearly of value: the identical daring, emotional and emphatic style might be seen in his famous landscapes of the American wilderness.

Adams said once“A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels in the deepest sense about what is being photographed, and thereby is a true manifestation of what one feels about life in its entirety.”

He had previously supported his employer's goal of forcing people to go to Yosemite. Now he had his own goals to pursue. And due to his ability to harness the communicative power of photography, Adams went on to persuade thousands and thousands of the greatness and value of nature.