Charles L. Weed
Mirror Lake and Reflections, Yosemite Valley, Mariposa County, California1865
albumen print
15 1/2 x 20 1/4 in.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Charles T. Isaacs
Recognizing the pictorial dividend to be gained by showing Yosemite’s geological glories in duplicate, Weed used the valley’s lakes as reflecting pools. Weed first traveled to Yosemite in 1859 with a small camera but returned in 1865 with a larger model capable of using mammoth plates. These larger plates were better able to capture the grandeur and visual drama of such sublime Western views.
