According to the website for the Ansel Adams Gallery, located within the heart of Yosemite Valley, it:
“strives to cultivate an aesthetic appreciation and concern for our world by offering visitors a unique variety of books, handcrafts, fine arts, and an extraordinary collection of Ansel Adams original photographs.”
As an authorized concessioner of the National Park Service, it is open seven days per week between 10am and 3pm (except for Christmas Day) and offers incredible views of Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, and Glacier Point. The Gallery, originally named Best’s Studio, has operated in Yosemite Valley by the Ansel Adams family since 1902.
In addition to being a photography gallery to display and sell prints of the numerous iconic black and white photographs of Ansel Adams, many of which were taken within Yosemite Park itself, the Gallery also offers several additional activities, including:
- Camera walks – led by Staff Photographers throughout the summer, they include such topics as: basic camera information (regarding both digital and film formats), composition, and exposure. The walks are offered for free on Thursdays and Saturdays, departing from the Gallery porch, as well as on Tuesdays, starting from the Ahwanhee Hotel, although they are limited to 9 people.
- Photography classes – offered 6 days a week, each of the classes teaches how to incorporate Ansel Adams’ photographic techniques and offers advice on photo composition.
- Gallery tour – an hour with the Gallery curator viewing some of Ansel Adams’ original photographs held in inventory and discussing such topics as the evolution of photography and Adams’ personal artistic evolution.
- Visited: Oct 2011
Traces of Places 