Magic Tower, Yosemite 1870 - 1874

Carleton Watkins made this albumen print, “Magic Tower, Yosemite,” using a process that was as laborious as the landscape was monumental. To create this image, Watkins would have coated a glass plate with collodion, sensitized it in a silver nitrate bath, and then exposed it in the camera while still wet. This wet plate process required considerable technical skill, a portable darkroom, and a lot of heavy equipment. The result is an image of astonishing clarity, capturing the rugged texture of the rocks, and the vastness of the Yosemite Valley. Watkins’s choice of process was critical to his commercial success. His photographs were not only artistic statements, but also commodities, fueling tourism and shaping perceptions of the American West. By understanding the complex interplay of materials, labor, and context, we can appreciate the full significance of this photograph, and challenge traditional distinctions between art and craft.