Art and outdoor conservationists around the world celebrated famed American Landscape Photographer Ansel Adams’ birthday on February 20th, but the photographer best known for making Yosemite a household name also documented one of the most controversial times in American history. In 1943, Adams was invited by Ralph Merritt, the newly appointed director of the Manzanar War Relocation Center in Owens Valley, California to document daily life at the Japanese-American internment camp. His project, which ended in 1944, was published in the book “Born Free and Equal: The Story of Loyal Japanese-Americans“
Adams had a very clear goal for the project from the beginning. He wanted to show the world that the families living in the camp were not to be feared, as they were good citizens of the United Sates. He also sought to tell the stories about how they coped with the sudden and stressful change in their lives. Adams, in a letter offering the collection to the Library of Congress, said:
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a vital community in an arid (but magnificent) environment…All in all, I think this Manzanar Collection is an important historical document, and I trust it can be put to good use.
The photographs show that Adam’s should be recognized for much more than his landscape photography innovation, as he was also an accomplished photojournalist. His visual story of the lives of the internees should serve as a constant reminder of the hardships that the families of Japanese-Americans faced during World War II.
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 3](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-3-1024x755.jpg)
The entrance of the Manzanar Relocation Center. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A351-3-M-28
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 4](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-4-1024x738.jpg)
Rows of houses in front of the snow-covered Sierra Nevada Mountains at Manzanar Relocation Center. (Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A351-3-M-25)
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 30](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-30.jpg)
Editor Roy Takeno reads a copy of the Manzanar Free Press in front of the newspaper office at the Manzanar War Relocation Center. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-4-M-4
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 9](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-9-1024x782.jpg)
Farm workers harvest crops in front of Mt. Williamson. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A351-3-M-14
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 35](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-35-1024x855.jpg)
Farmer Richard Kobayashi proudly displays two heads of freshly picked cabbage from the camp’s farmland. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-4-M-31
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 12](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-12-1024x778.jpg)
Driver Benji Iguchi and mechanic Henry Hanawa reapir a tractor under the bright California sun. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-5-M-18-Cx
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 13](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-13.jpg)
The poultry farm at Manzanar Relocation Center. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-6-M-67
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 14](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-14.jpg)
Mori Nakashima, in charge of the chicken coup, feeds the birds as the low sun casts a shadow on the wooden door. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-6-M-65
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 11](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-11.jpg)
Tsutomu Fuhunago unloads a heavy crate from a produce truck. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-6-M-32
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 5](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-5-1024x750.jpg)
Often, internees would be relocated to one of the nine other camps in the United States, and moving day was always a sad time for new friends to say farewell. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-6-M-51
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 6](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-6-1024x833.jpg)
Ryie Yoshizawa teaches a class on dressmaking to a group of women in camp. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-5-M-24
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 16](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-16-1024x688.jpg)
Recreational activities and sports were an important part of keeping morale up with the internees. Here, a group of women play volleyball on a sandy and dusty patch of land in the camp. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-6-M-14
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 18](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-18-1024x722.jpg)
American football was popular among the men in camp. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-6-M-16
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 17](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-17-1024x732.jpg)
Early morning stretching for a group of school aged girls. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-6-M-08
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 15](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-15-1024x804.jpg)
Dennis Shimizu enjoys a book in bed during downtime. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-4-M-58
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 19](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-19-1024x796.jpg)
Florence Kuwata smiles in front of the sun during an afternoon of practicing the baton. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-5-M-34
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 31](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-31-1024x740.jpg)
C.T. Hibino, an artist, in front of his latest work. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A351-3-M-40-B
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 25](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-25.jpg)
Electrician Yonehisa Yamagami smiles for a portrait. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-4-M-61
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 36](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-36-1024x790.jpg)
Despite being held against their will, the camp was a fully self-sufficient governed, complete with their own town hall meetings. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-DIG-ppprs-00374
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 24](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-24.jpg)
Here Roy Takano and Mayor are shown in a town hall meeting. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-5-M-15
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 26](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-26-1024x833.jpg)
Frank Hirosawa, a rubber chemist, at work in his laboratory. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-4-M-37-A
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 20](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-20-1024x784.jpg)
Women passing the time by playing cards. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-5-M-5-Bx
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 29](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-29-1024x774.jpg)
Akio Matsumoto, a commercial artist, at work. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-4-M-40-Cx
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 37](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-37-1024x859.jpg)
Michael Yonemetsu, an X-Ray technician. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-4-M-9
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 32](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-32-1024x809.jpg)
New lives and death were a way of life for the citizens at the camp. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-5-M-4
![Ansel Adams Japanese Internment Camp 33](http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ansel-Adams-Japanese-Internment-Camp-33-1024x799.jpg)
A large monument stands in the cemetery at the Manzanar Relocation Center. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A351-3-M-13