Tutucanula - El Capitan 3600 ft. Yo Semite (1861) by Carleton WatkinsThe J. Paul Getty Museum
'In nature, where changes can occur in seconds or centuries, Carleton Watkins found the perfect subjects to convey a theme of transience versus permanence.'
Yosemite Valley from Inspiration Point (negative 1865 - 1866)The J. Paul Getty Museum
'The narrow foreground strip reveals that Carleton Watkins's camera was mere feet from the edge of Inspiration Point, giving the viewer a solid sense of being there, literally on the edge.'
[Part of the Trunk of the "Grizzly Giant" with Clark - Mariposa Grove - 33 feet diameter] (negative 1861; print about 1866) by Carleton WatkinsThe J. Paul Getty Museum
'Carleton Watkins's guide into Yosemite Valley, Galen Clark, stands at the thirty-three foot wide base of a sequoia tree known as "the grizzly giant," legitimizing the larger-than-life tales of the western wilderness.'
American River, from Green Bluffs American River, from Green Bluffs (negative 1866–1869; print after 1870) by Alfred A. Hart and Carleton WatkinsThe J. Paul Getty Museum
'Watkins was a San Francisco-based photographer who also chose the railroad as a primary subject. Because Hart's negatives belonged to the Central Pacific Railroad, they were subsequently printed by other company photographers who, like Watkins, failed to properly credit Hart.'
Bloomer Cut near Auburn, 800 feet long and 63 feet high. Bloomer Cut near Auburn, 800 feet long and 63 feet high. (1866–1869) by Alfred A. Hart and Carleton WatkinsThe J. Paul Getty Museum
'Though Hart made this stereograph, its mount bears Carleton E. Watkins's name. Watkins was a San Francisco-based photographer who also chose the railroad as a primary subject.'
Malakoff Diggings, North Bloomfield, Nevada County, California (1871) by Carleton WatkinsThe J. Paul Getty Museum
'In this highly detailed overview, Carleton Watkins looked down upon a hydraulic mining operation and recorded the early intrusion of industry upon the landscape.'
Yosemite Valley (c. 1866) by Carleton Emmons WatkinsThe Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
'This photograph, made on Watkins's second trip to the valley, was taken from Mariposa Trail at a location today known as Old Inspiration Point, nearly 3,000 vertical feet above Yosemite Valley, from which he felt "the view looked best."'
[The Devil's Slide, Utah] (1873 - 1874) by Carleton WatkinsThe J. Paul Getty Museum
'Watkins likely traveled aboard this train, which was clearly posed for the photograph.'
Down the Valley, Yosemite (1878) by Carleton WatkinsThe J. Paul Getty Museum
'In this view of the Yosemite Valley, Carleton Watkins masked the finished print into a circle as a means of conveying a deeper feeling of perspective. "More of an artist than a businessman," Watkins lost most of the negatives he had created over a twenty-year period to a competitor after a lawsuit in the mid-1860s.'
Among the Treetops, Calaveras Grove (negative 1878; print 1880–1890) by Carleton WatkinsThe J. Paul Getty Museum
'In a letter to a friend, Carlton Watkins expressed feelings of pride about the landscape images he took following his 1876 lawsuit and subsequent bankruptcy: "Everybody says (the new photographs) are better, softer, more artistic, etc." After twenty years as a photographer, his mature aesthetic and technical skills seem to have provided Watkins with a sense of confidence, encouraging more experimental approaches to his work.'
