Ansel Adams was not perfect. Yes, he did have an affair with assistant Patsy English, but it’s commonly believed that Virginia knew about it. For obvious reasons, Patsy is not mentioned in his autobiography (I’d like to see the first draft, or even an early uncorrected proof of the book.) In his early years, he was often described as unruly, and was taken out of school at the age of 12 to be home schooled. He was prone to illness; Ansel is known to have had at least one major mental breakdown. He was a driven workaholic, often pushing himself and his staff (including Virginia) 15 hours per day. And he was a perfectionist; “Moonrise” was shot in 1941, but it was not until the 70’s that Ansel produced a print to his liking.

All of this just made him human. In my brief meeting with him, he was calm, patient and courteous. I wish I had known him better.

Ansel Adams was not perfect. Yes, he did have an affair with assistant Patsy English, but it’s commonly believed that Virginia knew about it. For obvious reasons, Patsy is not mentioned in his autobiography (I’d like to see the first draft, or even an early uncorrected proof of the book.) In his early years, he was often described as unruly, and was taken out of school at the age of 12 to be home schooled. He was prone to illness; Ansel is known to have had at least one major mental breakdown. He was a driven workaholic, often pushing himself and his staff (including Virginia) 15 hours per day. And he was a perfectionist; “Moonrise” was shot in 1941, but it was not until the 70’s that Ansel produced a print to his liking.

All of this just made him human. In my brief meeting with him, he was calm, patient and courteous. I wish I had known him better.

So SORRY folks. I never get into this type of a discussion but your comment tripped me over the top. Have you ever looked at the stuff posted on this or any other photographic site??? Most of these folks couldn't ever approach Ansel's quality of work even if he was standing at their side. The comment from you quoted above just shows your lack of knowledge and character. The man was a true master. He inspires, but I have not seen his equal (maybe Clyde Butcher) and I have looked. Does it really hurt to give him the credit he deserves?

O', I have a very good idea of who he was and most likely know as much if not more than you do about him, from the smallest detail to the largest and most well-know detail. For example, I know that his drive regarding photography caused him to die with no family in attendance and only his photography assistant to be by his side; I know that his constant striving in photography caused him to have a very unhappy marriage although he and his wife stayed together and that his children had little love for him; I know that he was a "ladies man," and loved alcohol and parties. I know that it is because of him that we all know photography as an art today and that if not for him and his incredible intellect photography might not be what it is today nor, most likely, would our technology in the art of photography be what it is. Other than Edward Stieglitz, Ansel Adams contributed the most knowledge and insight into photography and into placing it as an art than any other photographer of his day . I study him extensively and have learned much through this study about how to take a photo; I'm much more an f.64 type than a Pictorial type. I just wanted to check that this particular photo was in the public domain, as many are, since we are all, as photographers, concerned with that when a photo is posted, it would be good to say that in the post, attribution is usually good when posting a photo. I also wanted to know if there was an actual point, a discussion point, so to speak, not just a quote. I've read almost, have one more book to get, every bio written about him and his auto-biography and his letters and his photo technique books. Just now I'm finishing up the f.64 book, good read and includes a lot of information on the other photographers "in the day." In fact one of them, Walker Evans, currently has an exhibition at the San Francisco Modern Museum of Art for all the Northern California photographers on this site, it goes until February. Also getting to know Doreathea Lange better through books on her. It's too bad I don't have a better memory, darn! Do not assume, based on responses, what people might know or not know about a particular subject.

O', I have a very good idea of who he was and most likely know as much if not more than you do about him, from the smallest detail to the largest and most well-know detail. For example, I know that his drive regarding photography caused him to die with no family in attendance and only his photography assistant to be by his side; I know that his constant striving in photography caused him to have a very unhappy marriage although he and his wife stayed together and that his children had little love for him; I know that he was a "ladies man," and loved alcohol and parties. I know that it is because of him that we all know photography as an art today and that if not for him and his incredible intellect photography might not be what it is today nor, most likely, would our technology in the art of photography be what it is. Other than Edward Stieglitz, Ansel Adams contributed the most knowledge and insight into photography and into placing it as an art than any other photographer of his day . I study him extensively and have learned much through this study about how to take a photo; I'm much more an f.64 type than a Pictorial type. I just wanted to check that this particular photo was in the public domain, as many are, since we are all, as photographers, concerned with that when a photo is posted, it would be good to say that in the post, attribution is usually good when posting a photo. I also wanted to know if there was an actual point, a discussion point, so to speak, not just a quote. I've read almost, have one more book to get, every bio written about him and his auto-biography and his letters and his photo technique books. Just now I'm finishing up the f.64 book, good read and includes a lot of information on the other photographers "in the day." In fact one of them, Walker Evans, currently has an exhibition at the San Francisco Modern Museum of Art for all the Northern California photographers on this site, it goes until February. Also getting to know Doreathea Lange better through books on her. It's too bad I don't have a better memory, darn! Do not assume, based on responses, what people might know or not know about a particular subject.