Ansel Adams: The Man Behind the Camera Quiz

Answer: San Francisco, California

Ansel Easton Adams was the only child of Charles and Olive Adams. His father ran a lumber business that his grandfather had founded. Adams had a good relationship with his father. They did many hobbies together, such as astronomy. His relationship with his mother, however, was distant.

Answer: nose

On April 18, 1906, a major earthquake shook San Fransisco. Ansel Adams was not hurt in the initial quake, but a few hours later, during an aftershock, he was thrown into a wall and broke his nose. His nose was never re-set and remained crooked for the rest of his life.

Answer: piano

Ansel Adams began to play the piano as the age of twelve. He had many piano teachers, including the composer Henry Cowell. At one point he planned on becoming a professional pianist, but settled on photography instead.

Answer: Yosemite National Park

Ansel Adams first visited Yosemite with his family in 1916. During that trip, his father gave him his first camera, and thus began his love of photography. He took pictures of the park for the rest of his life.

He primarily took black-and-white pictures, though he did experiment with color. Although he is well known for his landscapes, he also took nature close-ups and portraits.

His work has been exhibited in many museums, such as the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Answer: Sierra Club

Ever since he was a child, Adams had an interest in nature. He enjoyed exploring the land around San Fransisco.

He worked as a summer caretaker at the Sierra Club visitor center in Yosemite Valley in the early 1920s. He later served on the board of directors from 1934 to 1971.

In 1963, he won the Sierra Club John Muir Award, and in 1971, the club established the Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography.

Answer: Virginia Best

Ansel met Virginia Rose Best while in Yosemite. Her family owned Best's Studio, where he would sometimes play the piano and later sell his prints. After getting married, they moved into his parents' house to save money. They had two children, Michael and Anne.

Answer: Presidential Medal of Freedom

Ansel Adams won many awards, both during his life and posthumously. Some other awards he has won include the Conservation Service Award in 1968 and the Hasselblad Award in 1981.

The Wilderness Society established an award named after him in 1980 called the Ansel Adams Award for Conservation.

Answer: cardiovascular disease

Ansel Adams died in a hospital in Monterey, California. He was 82 years old. He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in the Sierra Nevada.

Answer: True

Mount Ansel Adams is located between Yosemite National Park and the Sierra National Forest. It is about 11,760 feet tall. The surrounding portion of the Sierra Nevada, the Ansel Adams Wilderness, was renamed for him. It was originally called the Minarets Wilderness. Both were named for him after his death.

Answer: 2007

The California Hall of Fame was formed by Maria Shriver in 2006. The hall is located in The California Museum in Sacramento. Some other people inducted the same year as Adams include Steve Jobs, Jackie Robinson, and Elizabeth Taylor.