Ansel Adams Read Online Free PDF Page A

insomniac, he spent his nights alternately dozing and reading, his bedroom light always left on. He was usually into at least three books at any given time, one a humor or joke book, one a scientific tome, and (near the end of his life, and under my influence) one a detective novel. Piles of magazines shared space and time with the books, among them Scientific American, the New Yorker , and both Newsweek and Time. Ray Taliaferro’s late-night talk show on San Francisco’s KGO radio claimed him as a regular listener and caller.
    Sitting at my desk that July, I calculated that I had been working for Ansel for 213 days (weekends did not mean days off) and that we had been out of town for sixty-two of those days. It was clear to me that he needed someone else to say, “No more travel,” since he himself seemed unable to refuse any invitation.
    Ansel was in constant demand as a lecturer, but with his stamina in decline, he had begun to find it difficult to give the combination slide show–lecture presentation on his life and work; a few minutes into the talk, his voice would weaken and his words become a mumble. His schedule had been planned well into the future by the departed Andrea, who loved traveling, but when we discussed the situation, he realized that unless he stayed at home, he would never be able to write his autobiography or complete the Museum Sets. He gave me the green light to turn on the stoplight, and I immediately canceled a two-week lecture tour booked for October, as well as a trip to Brazil. There were many calls of complaint (which I fielded), but Ansel was hugely relieved.
    All too painfully aware that everything else was taking precedence over the autobiography, I decided that the book’s best chance lay in Ansel’s getting those Museum Sets and technical books completed and not allowing some new project to cut in. But there were always special circumstances and obligations, and I came to see that as much as he complained of being overwhelmed by so many responsibilities, Ansel thrived on variety. With this in mind, I began to look for any opportunity to insinuate work on the autobiography into his life.
    Ansel had an extraordinary ability to take on a number of difficult tasks simultaneously, but in this he was also assisted by a hardworking, professional staff. We all used to marvel at how busy he kept us, like a circus juggler with ten balls in the air at once. Two of his most important employees at this time were John Sexton and Phyllis Donohue.
    John had attended the 1973 Yosemite Workshop and impressed Ansel with his already keen photographic eye and technique as well as his confident manner. After assisting at subsequent workshops, he joined the staff (not long before I came aboard) as Ansel’s photographic assistant, responsible for ordering supplies, schlepping and setting up the heavy equipment, prepping the darkroom, washing and toning prints, and carrying out many of the tests for the technical books. John found a great mentor in Ansel, who left him a memo on his first day stating, “The place is yours. Organize it yourself, then tell me where things are.” 15 Under Ansel’s tutelage, John became a more masterful photographer and brilliant printer. He grew so proficient at explaining the Zone System that Ansel turned over that lecture at his workshops to him, the ultimate compliment. John continues to make and sell beautiful photographs and books, the negatives often taken during what he calls “quiet light,” the time after sunset but before true darkness. His John Sexton Photography Workshops are held annually in spring and fall, most often at his studio in Carmel Valley. They are highly regarded and very popular for a good reason: John learned well from Ansel to become one of the best teachers of landscape photography in the world. 16
    Phyllis worked for Ansel for years. She was our print technician and probably the best spotter in the world; she also had a knack for finding the