Adams, Ansel. Celebrating the American Earth: A Portfolio by Ansel Adams.

Texts by John Szarkowski (intro), Ansel Adams, and Robert Turnage. Wilderness Society, 1980. [Includes longer version of Turnage's essay, "Ansel Adams: The Role of the Artist in the Environmental Movement" than in Celebrating the American Earth: A Tribute to Ansel Adams. Portfolio of Adams photos same as in Celebrating the American Earth: A Tribute to Ansel Adams.]

Ansel Adams (1902–1984) was a monumental American photographer, visionary environmentalist, and technical pioneer best known for his breathtaking black-and-white landscapes of the American West. Born in San Francisco, California, Adams initially trained to be a pianist before discovering his lifelong passion for photography during a 1916 trip to Yosemite National Park. In 1932, he co-founded Group f/64 alongside Edward Weston and Imogen Cunningham, advocating for sharp focus, precise tone, and unmanipulated "straight" photography over the prevailing pictorialist style. Renowned for co-creating the Zone System—a scientific method for determining optimal exposure and development to achieve precise tonal range—Adams produced iconic masterpieces such as Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico and Monolith, the Face of Half Dome. Beyond his artistic and technical achievements, he was a lifelong advocate for wilderness preservation, serving on the board of the Sierra Club and using his evocative imagery to champion the creation and expansion of national parks across North America.

Copies available:

• Wraps, 30 pages, VG+ with crimp on cover.
• Wraps, near fine.