Ansel Adams grew up in a "Victorian" household that didn't discuss much feelings. His parents were rather elderly. His nose was broken in 1906 during the great earthquake and fire. It was partly due to this that Ansel didn't fit in very well at school. His parents tried sending him to different schools, but eventually decided to tutor him personally for the majority of his schooling life. Ansel was a musician before he was a photographer. His primary instrument was the piano. His original intention was to become a professional musician, but he eventually gave it up for photography. His first camera was a Kodak No. 1 Box Brownie given to him by his parents. In 1927 he created his first fully visualized photograph Monolith, the Face of Half Dome. Because he shot mostly in black and white, contrast was key in his photographs. He uses sunlight in many of them to provide the white and they all include many shadows or silhouettes for the darker shades.
I chose this photo because the white and black is not so obvious and abrupt. There are may more shades of gray and just a bit of pure black and white.
