Approved biography
Courtesy of the Victoria & Albert Museum (London, UK)
 
Carleton E. Watkins was the foremost American landscape photographer of his day. He is best remembered for his majestic images of the American West, which he took using a 'mammoth-plate' camera that held glass negatives the same size as this print. This photograph, and others taken by Watkins, helped persuade the US Congress to make the Yosemite Valley a national park.
 
This biography is courtesy and copyright of the Victoria & Albert Museum and is included here with permission.
 
Wikipedia
 
Carleton E. Watkins (1829-1916) was an American photographer of the 19th century. Born in New York, he moved to California and quickly became interested in photography. He focused mainly on landscape photography, and Yosemite Valley was a favorite subject of his. His photographs of the valley significantly influenced the United States Congress' decision to preserve it as a National Park.