Ansel Adams’ Work on Japanese-American Internment at the Manzanar War Relocation Center

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Ansel Adams…The Photography Legend

Ansel Adams was an American Photographer and Environmentalist who was born in San Francisco on the 20th of February, 1902 and made his first trip to the Yosemite in 1916.

The first camera he owned was the Kodak No. 1 Box Camera and he published his first photographic portfolio in 1927. He appreciated the beauty of nature at a very early age and explored the beaches and coastal areas. He is famous for his black and white photographs of the Yosemite National Park.

A photo of a bearded Ansel Adams with a camera on a tripod and a light meter in his hand. Adams is wearing a dark jacket and a white shirt, and the open shirt collar is spread over the lapel of his jacket. He is holding a cable release for the camera, and there is a rocky hillside behind him. The photo was taken by J. Malcolm Greany, probably in 1947.
A photo of a bearded Ansel Adams with a camera on a tripod and a light meter in his hand. Adams is wearing a dark jacket and a white shirt, and the open shirt collar is spread over the lapel of his jacket. He is holding a cable release for the camera, and there is a rocky hillside behind him. The photo was taken by J. Malcolm Greany, probably in 1947.

Ansel's Exhibits

Ansel then held his one-person exhibition, “Pictorial Photographs of the Sierra Nevada Mountains” which opened at the Smithsonian Institution in 1931. This exhibition featured 60 prints taken in the High Sierra. Washington Post reviewed his work saying,

His photographs are like portraits of the giant peaks, which seem to be inhabited by mythical gods.

After this, Ansel broadened his genre to still life and closeups and one of his best from this bunch is the Rose and Driftwood.”

It was in 1933, Ansel opened his own art and photography gallery in San Francisco. He also began publishing articles for photography magazines and in summers participated in Sierra Club outings as a paid photographer.

Ansel also started using his photos for the preservation of wilderness as he saw the Yosemite Valley being contaminated by “commercial development.”

In 1934, Ansel was elected to the Sierra Club Board of Directors and in 1936, exhibited photographs at the Alfred Stieglitz’s, an American gallery. His success led to new commercial assignments where he photographed wealthy patrons. Ansel became more popular during this period (the 1930s), a time when he experimented a lot and was more productive.

Many of Ansel’s negatives were destroyed during a fire at his Yosemite Studio in 1937. In 1940, Ansel was selected as vice chairman of the new photography department at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

He also organized a “Pageant of Photography” at the San Francisco Golden Gate International Exposition attracting millions of visitors.

In 1941, Ansel was hired by the Interior department to photograph national parks and monuments. It was during this time he developed the Zone system of exposure along with Fred Archer and used it as a method to determine proper exposure and contrast of the final print.

After the Attack of Pearl Harbour

Ansel was distressed by the Japanese American Internment that happened after the Pearl Harbour Attack on December 7, 1941, where more than 110,000 people of Japanese descent were forced from their homes to the relocation centers by the United States Government as it had declared war on Japan.

Ansel was invited by the director of the Manzanar War Relocation Center to document the camp life there and Ansel welcomed the opportunity.

The Japanese-Americans interned there during World War II. This work is a complete deviation from Ansel’s unique style of landscape photography. Ansel exhibited these photographs at the Manzanar War Relocation Center and the Museum of Modern Art in 1944.

Documents that accompany Ansel's online portfolio say that the evacuation struck a personal chord with him after an ailing family employee was taken from his home to a far away hospital.

Ansel told an interviewer in 1974, that from a social point of view, his Manzanar photos were the most important thing I've done or can do, as far as I know.”

Corporal Jimmie Shohara, Manzanar Relocation Center, Calif.
Title: Corporal Jimmie Shohara, Manzanar Relocation Center, Calif. / photograph by Ansel Adams; Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer; Date Created/Published: [1943]; Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver; 1 negative : safety film; Summary: Corporal Jimmie Shohara, bust portrait, facing front. His two ribbons are for good behavior pre-Pearl Harbor and Rifle and Pistol Citations. He visited his parents who were confined at Manzanar (but who were American citizens by birth); Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Baton practice, Florence Kuwata, Manzanar Relocation Center
Title: Baton practice, Florence Kuwata, Manzanar Relocation Center / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Florence Kuwata, three-quarter length portrait, standing, arms outstretched, holding a baton in each hand. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Catherine Natsuko Yamaguchi, Red Cross instructor, Manzanar Relocation Center, Cal.
Title: Catherine Natsuko Yamaguchi, Red Cross instructor, Manzanar Relocation Center, Cal. / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Catherine Natsuko Yamaguchi, bust portrait, facing front. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
C.T. Hibino, artist, Manzanar Relocation Center
Title: C.T. Hibino, artist, Manzanar Relocation Center / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: C.T. Hibino, half-length portrait, standing, facing front, holding paintbrush and palette, in front of large painting. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Akio Matsumoto, commercial artist, [Manzanar] Relocation Center
Title: Akio Matsumoto, commercial artist, [Manzanar] Relocation Center / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : nitrate. Summary: Akio Matsumoto, half-length portrait, seated at desk, facing front, painting sign. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Butcher shop, (J.S. Yonai), Manzanar Relocation Center
Title: Butcher shop, (J.S. Yonai), Manzanar Relocation Center / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : nitrate. Summary: J.S. Yonai, half-length portrait, standing, facing left, handling beef carcass in butcher shop. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Burning leaves, autumn dawn, Manzanar Relocation Center, California
Title: Burning leaves, autumn dawn, Manzanar Relocation Center, California / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : nitrate. Summary: Group of men and boys standing around a small brush fire holding shovels, a pitchfork stands in the right foreground, mountains in background. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Co-op enterprise office, Manzanar Relocation Center
Title: Co-op enterprise office, Manzanar Relocation Center / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Men and women seated at desks with typewriters and other office equipment. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Bert K. Miura, pattern making, Manzanar Relocation Center, California
Title: Bert K. Miura, pattern making, Manzanar Relocation Center, California / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Bert K. Miura, half-length portrait, standing, facing right, placing pattern on fabric. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Band concert, Manzanar Relocation Center
Title: Band concert, Manzanar Relocation Center / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Spectators of all ages, seated and standing, watch a band perform in the afternoon on an outdoor stage. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
 Benji Iguchi driving tractor, Manzanar Relocation Center, California
Title: Benji Iguchi driving tractor, Manzanar Relocation Center, California / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: A tractor pulls a plow through a field, mountains in the background. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Cattle in south farm, Manzanar Relocation Center, California
Title: Cattle in south farm, Manzanar Relocation Center, California / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Cattle graze in a field, a man stands in center of field, mountains in the background. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
 Poultry farm, Mori Nakashima, Manzanar Relocation Center
Title: Poultry farm, Mori Nakashima, Manzanar Relocation Center, / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : nitrate. Summary: Mori Nakashima, full-length portrait, standing, facing front, scattering chicken feed from a pail in front of a chicken coop. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.

While most of the photos taken during this time were portraits, there are also images that show daily life, agricultural activities, sports and leisure activities of the people. Ansel offered this collection to the Library of congress in 1965 and said in a letter,

The purpose of my work was to show how these people, suffering under a great injustice, and loss of property, businesses and professions, had overcome the sense of defeat and dispair [sic] by building for themselves a vital community in an arid (but magnificent) environment….
All in all, I think this Manzanar Collection is an important historical document, and I trust it can be put to good use.”

Harry Sumida, in hospital, Manzanar Relocation Center
Title: Harry Sumida, in hospital, Manzanar Relocation Center / photograph by Ansel Adams; Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943]; Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver; 1 negative : safety film; Summary: Harry Sumida, full-length portrait, seated, facing left, reading a book, next to a small table. “Oldest Neisi in Center,” according to caption on the negative sleeve; Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Louise Tami Nakamura, Manzanar Relocation Center, California
Title: Louise Tami Nakamura, Manzanar Relocation Center, California / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Louise Tami Nakamura, youngest daughter in Nakamura family, bust portrait, facing front. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Japanese-American U.S. Naval cadet nurse, Kay Fukuda, Manzanar Series
Title: Japanese-American U.S. Naval cadet nurse, Kay Fukuda, Manzanar Series / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : nitrate. Summary: Kay Fukuda, three-quarter length portrait, standing, facing front, in military uniform. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Girl and volley ball, Manzanar Relocation Center, California
Title: Girl and volley ball, Manzanar Relocation Center, California / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : nitrate. Summary: Young girl, half-length portrait, standing, facing slightly left, holding a volley ball with both hands. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Hidemi Tayenaka, wood worker, Manzanar Relocation Center, California
Title: Hidemi Tayenaka, wood worker, Manzanar Relocation Center, California / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Hidemi Tayenaka, standing, facing left, pushing a piece of wood through a planer. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Hands of lathe worker, Manzanar Relocation Center
Title: Hands of lathe worker, Manzanar Relocation Center / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Close-up view of lathe worker's hands. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Dressmaking class, Manzanar Relocation Center, California
Title: Dressmaking class, Manzanar Relocation Center, California / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Mrs. Ryie Yoshizawa, instructor, standing in front of class of women students, one woman in foreground with dressmaker's dummy. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Line crew at work in Manzanar, Manzanar Relocation Center, Manzanar, California
Title: Line crew at work in Manzanar, Manzanar Relocation Center, Manzanar, California / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Electric line repair crew at work on electric pole next to building. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Kenji Sano
Title: Kenji Sano / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : nitrate. Summary: Kenji Sano, farmer seg., bust portrait, facing front. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Farm, farm workers, Mt. Williamson in background, Manzanar Relocation Center, California
Title: Farm, farm workers, Mt. Williamson in background, Manzanar Relocation Center, California / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Farm workers harvesting crops in field, mountains in the background. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Joyce Yuki Nakamura, (eldest daughter)
Title: Joyce Yuki Nakamura, (eldest daughter) / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Joyce Yuki Nakamura, bust portrait, facing front. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.

Ansel resigned from the Sierra Club Board in 1971 and also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980. He died in Carmel, California on the 22nd of April, 1984.

What you see here is a completely different collection of Ansel's work from what most people know as he was most famous for his black and white landscape photographs especially those of the Yosemite National Park.

Yoshiko Joan Mori, stenographer in Education Office, Manzanar Relocation Center
Title: Yoshiko Joan Mori, stenographer in Education Office, Manzanar Relocation Center / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative: nitrate Summary: Yoshiko Joan Mori, half-length portrait, seated at a desk in an office, facing slightly right, holding a pen in her right hand over a steno pad. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Richard Kobayashi, farmer with cabbages, Manzanar Relocation Center, California
Title: Richard Kobayashi, farmer with cabbages, Manzanar Relocation Center, California / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : nitrate. Summary: Richard Kobayashi, half-length portrait, standing, facing front, holding a head of cabbage in each hand.Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Relocation good-byes, Manzanar Relocation Center
Title: Relocation good-byes, Manzanar Relocation Center / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : nitrate. Summary: Mrs. Otsuno Nakaji, three-quarter length portrait, standing against the open door of an automobile, facing left. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
 Yonehisa Yamagami, electrician, Manzanar Relocation Center, California
Title: Yonehisa Yamagami, electrician, Manzanar Relocation Center, California / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : nitrate. Summary: Yonehisa Yamagami, bust portrait, facing slightly right, a cigarette holder between his teeth. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Tom Kobayashi, landscape, south fields, Manzanar Relocation Center
Tom Kobayashi, landscape, south fields, Manzanar Relocation Center / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Tom Kobayashi, half-length portrait, facing right with mountains in the background. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Mrs. Ryie Yoshizawa, teacher of fashion and designing, etc., Manzanar Relocation Center, Manzanar, California
Title: Mrs. Ryie Yoshizawa, teacher of fashion and designing, etc., Manzanar Relocation Center, Manzanar, California / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Mrs. Ryie Yoshizawa and class of women students at table, looking at fashion magazines and patterns. Students are: Satoko Oka, Chizuko Karnii, Takako Nakanishi, Kikiyo Yamasuchi, Masako Kimochita, Mitsugo Fugi, Mie Mio, Chiye Kawase, and Miyeko Hoshozike. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Sumiko Shigematsu at power machine, Manzanar Relocation Center, California
Title: Sumiko Shigematsu at power machine, Manzanar Relocation Center, California / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Sumiko Shigematsu, half-length portrait, seated at textile machinery, facing right. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Warehouse, M. Ogi, manager; S. Sugimoto, manager of Co-op; Bunkichi Hayashi, Manzanar Relocation Center
Title: Warehouse, M. Ogi, manager; S. Sugimoto, manager of Co-op; Bunkichi Hayashi, Manzanar Relocation Center / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: M. Ogi, S. Sugimoto, and Bunkichi Hayashi standing among shelves with boxes in warehouse. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Sumiko Shigematsu, foreman of power sewing machine girls, Manzanar Relocation Center, California
Title: Sumiko Shigematsu, foreman of power sewing machine girls, Manzanar Relocation Center, California Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 negative : safety film ; 4 x 5 in. Summary: Sumiko Shigematsu, standing at left, looking at row of women seated at sewing machines. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on reproduction.
Mrs. Ryie Yoshizawa, teacher, fashion designing class, Manzanar Relocation Center, California
Title: Mrs. Ryie Yoshizawa, teacher, fashion designing class, Manzanar Relocation Center, California / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Mrs. Ryie Yoshizawa and class of women students at table with fabric and dressmaking equipment. Students are: Satoko Oka, Chizuko Karnii, Takako Nakanishi, Kikiyo Yamasuchi, Masako Kimochita, Mitsugo Fugi, Mie Mio, Chiye Kawase, and Miyeko Hoshozike Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Mitsu Nakai and baby
Title: Mitsu Nakai and baby / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Mitsu Nakai, three-quarter length portrait, seated on couch, facing front, holding baby. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Toyo Miyatake, (Photographer)
Title: Toyo Miyatake, (Photographer) / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : nitrate. Summary: Tōyō Miyatake, bust portrait, facing front. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Tractor repair: Driver Benji Iguchi, Mechanic Henry Hanawa, Manzanar Relocation Center, California
Title: Tractor repair: Driver Benji Iguchi, Mechanic Henry Hanawa, Manzanar Relocation Center, California Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 negative : safety film ; 4 x 5 in. Summary: Mechanic repairs tractor engine while driver looks on, tool box in the foreground, pick-up truck in the background. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on reproduction.
Vollyball, [i.e. volleyball] Manzanar Relocation Center, Calif.
Title: Vollyball, [i.e. volleyball] Manzanar Relocation Center, Calif. / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : nitrate. Summary: Japanese American women playing volleyball, one-story buildings and mountains in the background. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Work-offer board, Manzanar Relocation Center, Calif.
Title: Work-offer board, Manzanar Relocation Center, Calif. / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Notices of available employment posted on an outdoor bulletin board. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Manzanar street scene, spring, Manzanar Relocation Center
Title: Manzanar street scene, spring, Manzanar Relocation Center / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Two way traffic in the camp, and camp buildings. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Manzanar street scene, winter, Manzanar Relocation Center
Title: Manzanar street scene, winter, Manzanar Relocation Center / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Rows of camp housing, covered on the outside with tarpaper, snow-covered mountains in the distance. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Miss Tetsuko Murakami
Title: Miss Tetsuko Murakami / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : nitrate. Summary: Miss Tetsuko Murakami, secretary; bust portrait, facing front. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Miss Yemiko Sedohara
Title: Miss Yemiko Sedohara / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : nitrate. Summary: Miss Yemiko Sedohara, secretary to Project Attorney, bust portrait, facing slightly right. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Shimizu
Title: Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Shimizu / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Mrs. Shimizu seated on couch with lacework, and Mr. Shimizu lying on bed, reading. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Mrs. Nakamura and 2 daughters (Joyce Yuki and Louise Tami)
Title: Mrs. Nakamura and 2 daughters (Joyce Yuki and Louise Tami) / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Mrs. Nakamura and her two daughters, Joyce Yuki (r) and Louise Tami (l), half-length portrait, facing front. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
[Mrs. Yaeko Nakamura and her two children, Joyce Yuki (right) and Louise Tami (left), standing on the step at the entrance of a dwelling, Manzanar Relocation Center]
Title: [Mrs. Yaeko Nakamura and her two children, Joyce Yuki (right) and Louise Tami (left), standing on the step at the entrance of a dwelling, Manzanar Relocation Center] / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film.Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Nurse Aiko Hamaguchi
Title: Nurse Aiko Hamaguchi / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Nurse Aiko Hamaguchi, bust portrait, facing front. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
 Pool in pleasure park, Manzanar Relocation Center, Calif.
Title: Pool in pleasure park, Manzanar Relocation Center, Calif. / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Japanese-style garden with pool at dusk with mountains in the background and moon. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Potatoe, [i.e., Potato] fields, Manzanar Relocation Center
Title: Potatoe, [i.e., Potato] fields, Manzanar Relocation Center / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Workers pick potatoes and pack them into crates, mountains in the distance. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Relocation: Packing up, Manzanar Relocation Center
Title: Relocation: Packing up, Manzanar Relocation Center / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : nitrate. Summary: Man stands on top of bus loading luggage while a group of people gather to say farewell, guardhouse in the background. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication
 Roy Takeno (Editor) and group reading Manzanar paper [i.e. Los Angeles Times] in front of office, Yuichi Hirata, Nabuo Samamura, Manzanar Relocation Center, California
Title: Roy Takeno (Editor) and group reading Manzanar paper [i.e. Los Angeles Times] in front of office, Yuichi Hirata, Nabuo Samamura, Manzanar Relocation Center, California Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 negative : safety film ; 4 x 5 in. Summary: Three men, two reading newspapers, standing in front of Office of Reports, Free Press. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on reproduction.
Teruko Kiyomura
Title: Teruko Kiyomura / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Teruko Kiyomura, bookkeeper, bust portrait, facing front. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Tojo Miatake [i.e. Tōyō Miyatake] Family, Manzanar Relocation Center
Title: Tojo Miatake [i.e. Tōyō Miyatake] Family, Manzanar Relocation Center / photograph by Ansel Adams. Creator(s): Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer Date Created/Published: [1943] Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver. 1 negative : safety film. Summary: Tōyō Miyatake, full-length portrait, standing in his children's bedroom looking at his young daughter seated at a desk, drawing, while her mother stands behind her. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
To see more of Ansel's work on the Manzanar Relocation Center, visit the Library of Congress here.

About Author

Dahlia is a stock photographer and full time educator at Light Stalking. You can find her on Gurushots and see some of her more popular articles at The American Society of Media Photographers. Get to know her better here.

Wow! Thanks for posting this. Those are amazing photographs from a dark period in USA history that rarely receives any attention. By the way- the light meter that’s hanging around Ansel Adams neck (in that first photo), I still have one of those. 🙂

Ernaldo’s comment is exactly right. Ansel Adams’ brilliant photography allows these horribly mistreated Americans’ quiet dignity and self-respect to shine through.

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