Making a Photographer

“[A] beautifully illustrated volume . . . A deep and nuanced understanding of the artist’s work.”—Antiques and the Arts Weekly

“Rebecca Senf has leveraged her unparalleled access and curious, analytic eye to bring us something completely new and interesting about one of America’s best-recognized photographers . . . shedding light on his artistic development and evolution into an environmentalist and entrepreneur.”—Elin Spring and Suzanne Révy, What Will You Remember (“Favorite Photobooks of 2020”)

“[A] revolutionary dive into one of America’s most renowned photographers.”—Bree Florence, Phoenix Home and Garden

Winner of the John Brinckerhoff Jackson Book Prize, sponsored by The Center for Cultural Landscapes at the UVA School of Architecture

“In her brilliant book, Dr. Rebecca Senf allows us to go beyond the pure beauty of Adams’s images. We are brought into a much-needed passion and complexity of his practice.”—Catherine Opie

“This is an important work that augments existing literature in both content and methodology. It will be a standard reference for anyone interested in Ansel Adams.”—Britt Salvesen, Los Angeles County Museum of Art

“Rebecca Senf brilliantly demonstrates how the first two decades of Ansel Adams’s long career—years that are often dismissed as ‘formative’ or ‘immature’—in fact, sow the seeds of the astonishing work that we now identify as ‘classic’ Adams.”—Steven Hoelscher, The University of Texas at Austin

“In this great, approachable read, Senf helps us appreciate the skills and genius of Adams, who inspired millions of Americans to visit, and to ultimately love and support, their National Parks.”—James E. Cook, CEO, Western National Parks Association

“Lavishly illustrated and painstakingly researched, Senf’s book reveals how a 14-year-old visitor to Yosemite became America’s most famous photographer and a passionate advocate for the National Parks.”—Malcolm Daniel, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston