Three years later, the seventeen-year-old Adams joined the Sierra Club, a new organization dedicated to preserving natural resources and nature's unique treasures. This proved to be an opportune decision, as the group's leaders wished to foment a strong conservation movement and needed Adams's assistance. Part of their plan was to have a photographer document the Sierra Club's adventure outings, and members broached the idea to the boy who seemed always to have a camera in tow. The delighted young photographer agreed and soon Adams became a connoisseur of the Sierra landscape—Yosemite in particular—while honing his skills as a visual artist. Adams and the Sierra Club were good for each other: The photographer's prolific output not only lured new supporters to the environmental cause, but Adams himself found a platform for his artistic vision—celebrating the glories of nature.