This time its Ansel Adams born in 1902 in San Francisco this "Great" was the best of his time.
He grew in a house set among the sand dunes of the Golden Gate. When he was four the great earthquake of 1906 threw him to the ground and badly broke his nose distinctly marking him for life.
In 1907 just a year later the family fortune collapsed in the financial panic and his father worked hard for the rest of his life trying to recoup.
Ansels mother under constant stress from her husband not being able to recover the Adams fortune had a large impact on Ansel.
Although his father encouraged him and supported him.
Ansel struggled through school and in later life he noted that he might have been diagnosed as hyperactive. There is also the distinct possibility that he may have suffered from dyslexia.
At the age of 12 he taught himself how to play the piano and read music he then took lessons and started to pursue a career in music.
For years he continued his pursuit of a music career.
Then in 1916 he visited Yosemite National Park and fell in love with it.
His father gave him a Kodak Brownie box camera during that stay and he took his first photographs and loved it, He hiked, climbed, and explored, gaining self-esteem and self-confidence. In 1919 he joined the Sierra Club and spent the first of four summers in Yosemite Valley. He became friends with many of the club's leaders.
The Clubb was one of the most vital parts in his success as a photographer.
Every Summer the club held a month long high trip
1927 was one of the most important years for Ansel, he made his first fully visualized photograph, Monolith, the Face of Half Dome, and took his first High Trip.
But more importantly he came under the influence of Albert M. Bender, a San Francisco insurance magnate and patron of arts and artists.
Albert was the one person that set about putting in the motion the publication of Ansels 1st Portfolio.
From then on Ansel rose to the top and is still today one of the most famous photographers.
