Adams is one of the best-known and most successful American artists of the 20th century, admired for his sweeping landscape photographs, exacting printing standards, founding of photographic institutions, and environmental advocacy. He first visited Yosemite when he was 14, later writing: “That first impression of the valley—white water, azaleas, cool fir caverns, tall pines and solid oaks, cliffs rising to undreamed-of heights, the poignant sounds and smells of the Sierra . . . was a culmination of experience so intense as to be almost painful.”

Adams returned every summer, including some years as a custodian of a Sierra Club lodge, until his death 68 years later. He made many images of Yosemite Valley from Inspiration Point, becoming intimately familiar with the seasonal changes of light, weather, and foliage. He attempted to capture a winter storm scene many times but was stymied again and again. Finally, one December day he took Clearing Winter Storm, which became one of his favorite photographs.

—Text taken from the Carter Handbook (2023)