Born in 1902 to a family* that was wealthy.and quite socially prominent, Adams was brought up in what could be described as a Victorian San Franciscan household. The Victorian family environment was very stiff and formal to the extent of Mr. Adams calling Ansel's mother "Mrs. Adams" even in the presence of very close friends.
According to his autobiography, his earliest recall is as an infant lying in a stroller outside, looking up at the blue sky. As the weather begins to turn, San Franciscan fog gives the sky a grayish color. His nanny picks him up and brings him inside. 4 Of course, this recall is perceived partly in the conscious and partly in the unconscious and is colored by the intervening years and experiences of his life. Nature had incorporated itself into his very being, so it is doubtful that he could separate life experiences from it retrospectively. However, this early memory is pertinent for the presence of the nanny. Infants and young children are dependent on others for their mere existence. A certain mutuality must exist between the mother or primary caregiver in order for an individual to fully develop into a socially integrated being. It is doubtful that Ansel lacked for anything in infancy, materially as well as physiologically or psychologically.
The impact of the San Fransicso earthquake* hit Adams literally and figuratively. He lived in such a privileged, protected environment, it was a shock that nature could do such hideous damage. Ansel's nose was broken during one of the aftershocks from the earthquake. Outside away from the house where family members and servants gathered, he was thrown against a brick wall. To the day he died, he wore the nose as a physical reminder of that 1906 earthquake.
As a child, Ansel was frequently ill. "My mental state was precarious...At the age of ten I remember experiencing unsettled periods of weepiness." Those times that he felt well, he was out exploring every inch of the area in which they lived, walking, hiking, studying bugs, trees, rocks and flowers. He had a lot of physical energy which needed to be spent. It was as though he was trying to fight off the depression and illness with the physical beauty of the outdoors. Due to increased "detailed motor activity, more refined use of language, and a more vivid use of imagination", Ansel was to prove his ability to "initiate ideas, actions, and fantasies, and to plan future events."8
It seemed as though Ansel ran everywhere. This was out of order — no one ran in genteel pre-war San Francisco — everyone walked. His young body seemed suited to the outdoor environment. It seemed strong enough and flexible enough to endure hikes and outings as well as climbing and balance. Even though he grew quickly, and was very thin and lanky, he did not appear to be out of place in the natural environment. The family doctor had recommended a period of time each day that he be kept in his darkened bedroom to calm him. He very much objected and despised this practice and his depression deepened. Outside sounds penetrated.the room and made him more restless than ever. Adler's theory of organ inferiority and compensation* seems to well fit this phase of Adams' life.
Ansel had an encompassing feeling that nature could heal and refers to the "healing beauty and power of the sun and sea and the distant hills." In 1916, at 14 years of age, he insisted his parents take him to Yosemite. The family had been planning a vacation and Yosemite caught his eye from a book his aunt had given him while at home sick in bed with measles. His memories of that vacation are predictably vivid in his autobiography.
1919 brought the flu for Ansel, along with depression again. Against doctor's wishes, Ansel insists on going to Yosemite to recuperate. His father, once again supportive, backed him up, feeling he did not need coddling. He claims he was never again bothered with irrational fears and fixations.
As previously mentioned, the theories of development of Alfred Adler* are a good fit for a review of the whole Ansel Adams' life.
