Gezicht op Yosemite Valley in Californië 1866

This photograph of Yosemite Valley in California was captured by Carleton E. Watkins using the wet plate collodion process, a technique that renders the landscape with striking clarity. The imposing rock formations, especially Half Dome, dominate the composition. Mountains, in art, can be seen as symbols of permanence, strength, and the sublime power of nature. Recall Caspar David Friedrich's wanderers gazing upon monumental peaks; here, Watkins invites us to partake in a similar contemplation of nature's grandeur. Consider how the sublime, once a spiritual experience, gradually shifts towards an aesthetic one, mirroring humanity's evolving relationship with the natural world. This photograph captures the emotional and psychological weight of nature's awe-inspiring presence. Watkins preserves not just a scene, but a feeling, a sense of timelessness.