Ansel Adams was a renowned American photographer known for his iconic black-and-white landscape images of the American West. Born in 1902 in San Francisco, Adams developed a passion for photography at a young age. He was instrumental in promoting photography as a fine art form and played a key role in the environmental conservation movement through his powerful images of national parks. Adams' meticulous technique and unique vision captured the beauty and grandeur of nature, earning him a lasting legacy as one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century.