Ansel Adams was an American photographer born in 1902 in San Francisco. He is best known for his black-and-white photographs of the American West, especially Yosemite National Park. Adams helped establish photography as an art form and was a founding member of Group f/64, an association of photographers advocating "pure" or straight photography using sharp focus and high depth of field. He produced several books of his work and was a longtime member and director of the Sierra Club, advocating for environmental causes including the preservation of wilderness areas. Adams died in 1984 at the age of 82, leaving a significant legacy as both an artist and environmentalist.