for someone celebrated today as one of america's greatest photographers, ansel adams had an inauspicious start in life. he was just 4 years old when much of his native city, san francisco, was destroyed by the earthquake and fire of 1906. that day, a strong aftershock pushed young ansel into a brick wall with such force that it broke his nose, which remained crooked for the rest of his life. one year later, the loss of the family fortune in a financial panic left his mother disconsolate and distant from her son. hindered by dyslexia as a student, adams barely kept his head above water in school. as a teen, his shyness and social awkwardness resulted in a relatively solitary adolescence.