Ansel Adams, American photographer, b. 1902. Adams is famous for his many photographs of American landscapes, especially our national parks. He was not succesful in school, so he was homeschooled, or tutored as it was called then, by his father and his aunt. He taught himself to play the piano and to read music, and then took lessons with hopes of becoming a concert pianist. However, he also began taking photographs as a teenager, and eventually photography became his life’s work.