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a vital community in an arid (but magnificent) environment…All in all, I think this Manzanar Collection is an important historical document, and I trust it can be put to good use.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.
The entrance of the Manzanar Relocation Center. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A351-3-M-28
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)
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
Farm workers harvest crops in front of Mt. Williamson. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A351-3-M-14
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
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
The poultry farm at Manzanar Relocation Center. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-6-M-67
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
Tsutomu Fuhunago unloads a heavy crate from a produce truck. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-6-M-32
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
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
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
American football was popular among the men in camp. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-6-M-16
Early morning stretching for a group of school aged girls. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-6-M-08
Dennis Shimizu enjoys a book in bed during downtime. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-4-M-58
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
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
Electrician Yonehisa Yamagami smiles for a portrait. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-4-M-61
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
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
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
Women passing the time by playing cards. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-5-M-5-Bx
Akio Matsumoto, a commercial artist, at work. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-4-M-40-Cx
Michael Yonemetsu, an X-Ray technician. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Ansel Adams, photographer, LC-A35-4-M-9
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
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