Breathtaking grandeur of Yosemite Rocks, Trees and Water by Carleton Watkins at Met Long bearded explorer was pioneer of photography outdoors, using glass plates and chemicals in tent on the spot His monumental portraits of 19th Century Yosemite Valleys Led to Lincoln Signing first Act to Preserve Nature From Settlers and Commerce Curator enthusiast Jeff Rosenheim explains how Watkins achieved his Art Traveling by ship, train and mule carrying fragile plates, only 30 survived one summer Carleton Watkins: Yosemite November 3, 2014–February 1, 2015 Carleton Watkins Cape Horn Columbia River 1867 Carleton Watkins (1829–1916) was the consummate photographer of the American West. The exhibition at the Met includes a suite of photographs made by Watkins during his first encounter with the sublime topography of Yosemite in 1861 as well as a larger group of studies from his later visits to the valley in 1865 and 1866 while working for the California State Geological Survey. The 36 photographs in the exhibition are drawn primarily from Photographs of the Yosemite Valley, a unique album in the Special Collections Library at Stanford University. It was due partly to the artistry and rugged beauty of these photographs that President Lincoln signed a bill on June 30, 1864, declaring the valley inviolate and initiating the blueprint for the nation’s National Park System.