Half Dome, Merced River, Winter

Education
After young Ansel was dismissed from several private schools for his restlessness and inattentiveness, his father decided to pull him out of school in 1915, at the age of 12. Adams was then educated by private tutors, his Aunt Mary, and by his father.

Other Artistic Mediums:

Adams became interested in piano at age 12. Music became the main focus of his later youth. His father sent him to piano teacher Marie Butler, who focused on perfectionism and accuracy. After four years of studying under her guidance, Adams moved on to other teachers, one being composer Henry Cowell. For the next dozen years, the piano was Adams' primary occupation and, by 1920, his intended profession.
Mt. Mckinley and Wonder Lake

Why is he or she a photographer?

His father gave him his first camera, a Kodak Brownie box camera, during that stay and he took his first photographs with his "usual hyperactive enthusiasm". He returned to Yosemite on his own the following year with better cameras and a tripod.
El Capitan, Merced River, Clouds

What inspires his/her work?

Adams was a hyperactive child and prone to frequent
sickness. He had few friends, but his family home and surroundings on the heights facing the Golden

Gate provided ample childhood activities. Although

he had no patience for games or sports, the curious
Moonrise Hernandez

child took to nature at an early age

Has your artists encountered any

hardships or successes in his or her life that are directly reflected in their work? Explain.
Adams had a warm, loving and supportive

relationship with his father, but had a distant

relationship with his mother, who did not
Vernal Fall

approve of his interest in photography

Point Sur, Storm

Moon and Half Dome

Nevada Fall, Rainbow

The Tetons and the Snake River

Half Dome, Merced River, Winter