J. Malcolm Greany
Ansel Adams
PhotographerKnown for:
large-format landscape photography of the American West
Education:
Self-taught photographer
Born in San Francisco, Ansel Adams spent decades documenting the American West with large-format cameras, producing technically precise landscape photographs. His collaboration with Fred Archer in the 1940s yielded the Zone System, a method of controlling exposure and development still taught today. He was a co-founder of Group f/64 and an early advocate for the establishment of photography as a fine art.
Ansel Adams's Gear List(1)
Deardorff
Connection Source
PetaPixelBook
Connection note
Adams used an 8×10 Deardorff as one of his primary large-format cameras; discussed in "The Camera" (1980) and his autobiography.
Product description
Manufactured by L.F. Deardorff & Sons in Chicago from the 1920s through the 1980s, the 8×10 is a wooden field camera producing negatives 8 by 10 inches. Its bellows design allows for full front and rear movements including tilt, swing, and shift.
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Last updated March 20, 2026
