GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK – Tuesday, Feb. 20, would have been Ansel Adams’ 122nd birthday. The legendary photographer and conservationist created iconic images of American national parks that have cemented their natural splendor in the public consciousness.
Adams was born in San Francisco in 1902. According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, Adams became an avid nature lover at age 14 on a trip to Yosemite National Park, which would become one of his favorite subjects. The park is now home to the Ansel Adams Gallery.
His photos of Kings Canyon in California were instrumental to the establishment of Kings Canyon National Park in 1940, according to the National Park Service.
Perhaps his most famous work, a photo of the Snake River Overlook in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP), was taken as part of a photographic mural project commissioned by the Dept. of the Interior in 1941.
“Adams traveled throughout the West, documenting Interior-managed resources to show ‘the grandeur and influence of the Natural Scene’ and the benefits of conservation, sound direction and stewardship of our resources,” the Dept. of the Interior said via social media.
A plaque in GTNP commemorates the spot from which Adams snapped the widely recognized photo of the Tetons. Countless visitors have attempted to recreate his shot. His original belongs to the National Gallery of Art, along with his images from Yellowstone, Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia, Grand Canyon, Denali, Big Bend and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks, and more. View those images here.
