Ansel Adams (1902-1984) was a world famous photographer and environmentalist known for his black-and-white landscapes, particularly of the U.S. National Parks.

His photography has been used in a number of conservationist campaigns as well as album covers for several classical recordings including The Five Sacred Trees by John Williams. He was also an amateur pianist; his performance of Bach's "Prelude" appears on the soundtrack album for Ansel Adams: A Documentary Film directed by Ric Burns for PBS's American Experience.

Adams was a key advisor in the founding and establishment of the photography department at the Museum of Modern Art, he created the first official photographic portrait of a U.S. president in 1979 for Jimmy Carter, two of his photographs have left the solar system on Carl Sagan's Voyager Golden Record, and he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980.

References

• The script for scene 2 in Sesame Street Episode 0932, in which Oscar the Grouch maneuvers Bob and Maria into a situation where they fall off a City Island dock into the water while taking their picture, is titled "Oscar Adams."

• The photographer character Ansel from the Dinosaurs episode "Driving Miss Ethyl" is named after Adams.