
Yosemite is one of America's most beloved national parks - and Ansel Adams is one of America's most celebrated photographers.

So the recently released book Ansel Adams' Yosemite: The Special Edition Prints really is something to treasure.

This beautifully crafted tome contains rare images taken by the acclaimed photographer in the national park between the 1920s and 1960s. The jaw-dropping pictures have been arranged in a sequence selected by Adams before he died in 1984 and have never been published in book form.

They include shots of the amazing Tenaya Lake, the mighty Cathedral Rocks, beautiful Yosemite Falls and the incredible Half Dome rock formation.

Pete Souza, President Obama's official White House photographer, has written the foreword for the tome. He said: 'Ansel's pictures are forever embedded in my mind, a constant, subconscious inspiration in the makeup of who I am as a photographer and how I do what I do. In the mostly color world of photography online today, his images stand out more than ever.'

Scroll down to be transported back in time - and to one of the most stunning landscapes in the US...

This jaw-dropping picture, taken in 1946, is called 'Tenaya Lake, Mount Conness'. The Sierra Nevada peak's summit sits at a dizzying 12,590ft above sea level. Photograph by Ansel Adams

The image on the left is titled 'Bridalveil Fall, 1927'. Bridalveil Fall is one of the most dramatic waterfalls in the Yosemite Valley, with water dropping from a height of 617ft. The image on the right is called 'El Capitan, Sunrise, 1956'. This amazing rock formation is 3,000ft high. Photographs by Ansel Adams

This picture is called 'Merced River, Cliffs of Cathedral Rocks, Autumn, 1939', and was captured one chilly morning from the west side of the El Capitan bridge. Photograph by Ansel Adams

This striking image is called 'Cathedral Rocks, c. 1949'. The rocks tower over the south side of the Yosemite Valley. Photograph by Ansel Adams

This image is called 'Half Dome, Merced River, Winter, 1938'. The 4,737ft-high Half Dome granite rock formation is one of Yosemite National Park's signature geological features. Photograph by Ansel Adams

The image on the left is called 'Moon and Half Dome, 1960'. The image on the right is titled 'El Capitan, Cliffs and Tree, Winter, c. 1940'. Photographs by Ansel Adams

This mesmerising image is called 'Forest Floor, 1950'. Photograph by Ansel Adams

'Early Morning, Merced River, 1950' is the title of this beautiful shot. Photograph by Ansel Adams

This picture is called 'Sequoia Roots, c. 1950'. Giant sequoias are the most massive trees on earth and grow in three groves in Yosemite National Park - Mariposa, Tuolumne and Merced. Photograph by Ansel Adams

'Trees, Illilouette Ridge, 1945' is the title of this interesting shot. Photograph by Ansel Adams