Ansel Adams Birthday Celebration

CCP's annual birthday celebration for Ansel Adams is back! Join us to celebrate the release of Making a Photographer: The Early Work of Ansel Adams by CCP Chief Curator Dr. Rebecca Senf. To kick off the celebration, Senf will discuss the book and new exhibition, Ansel Adams: Signature Style, followed by a book signing.

The event schedule is as follows:

12:00 to 1:00pm

Book talk with Becky Senf in Crowder Hall (across Olive Rd from the front of the CCP- a very short walk)

12:00 to 4:00pm

Ansel Adams: Signature Style in the Heritage Gallery
The Qualities of LIGHT in the Main Gallery
Vintage camera tables with Western Photographic Historical Society at the CCP
Photo Booth on the front porch
Sun Print-Making on the front porch

1:00pm to 2:00pm

Book signing with Becky Senf in the CCP Auditorium

1:00pm to 4:00pm

Cake and snacks in the CCP Lobby
Bolo Tie-Making in the CCP Board Room (Upstairs)
Archival Object Viewing in the CCP Board Room (Upstairs)

1:30pm and 3:00pm

Family Photo Walks with Parks in Focus

Join staff and volunteers from Parks in Focus—a program of the Udall Foundation and Western National Parks Association that has been connecting Tucson youth to nature through photography since 1999—for a fun, family-friendly guided photography walk around the University of Arizona campus. Bring your phone or digital point-and-shoot camera (or borrow one from them) and learn simple tips and tricks to take your nature photography to the next level. This program is geared toward youth, families, and beginning nature photographers and will require walking approximately 1 mile around campus. Youth participants must be accompanied by a parent/guardian.

Interested in beating the crowds and getting a closer look at the Adams Archive? Click here to learn about our VIP Preview Experience taking place on Friday, February 28.

Rebecca Senf Discusses Making a Photographer: The Early Work of Ansel Adams:

Ansel Adams first arrived in California’s Yosemite Valley as a shy, home-schooled fourteen-year-old boy in 1916. How did this young tourist, with a Box Brownie camera in hand, become an accomplished mountaineer and one of the most recognizable photographers of the twentieth century? In this intimate first look at her new book, Making A Photographer: The Early Work of Ansel Adams, the chief curator of the Center for Creative Photography, Rebecca Senf, charts Adams’s progression from novice to mature artist. This debut event for Making a Photographer will include a short reading, followed by a behind-the-scenes exploration of how Senf leveraged primary source materials to build a new narrative about the photographer. Her talk illustrates unknown pictures by Adams, rare archival objects, and some of his most iconic photographs. Drawing on more than fifteen years of research, Making a Photographer: The Early Work of Ansel Adams will deepen your understanding of one of photography’s central figures, enriching your appreciation of his formative years.

Special thanks to this year's event sponsors:

Western National Parks Association
Western Photographic Historical Society