Valley of the Yosemite, from Rocky Ford

Early in a long, creative career distinguished by landmark studies of animal and human motion, Eadweard J. Muybridge created a remarkable group of photographs of Yosemite Valley in California. During his second journey there, lasting from June through November 1872, he made his most significant and extensive body of landscape photographs, many taken with mammoth glass plate negatives measuring 20 x 24 inches. This image of the valley from Rocky Ford is one of his most luminous and sublime views. Taken in early morning light, this carefully framed and dramatically lit photograph reveals Muybridge's interest in atmospheric conditions, shimmering reflections, and the movement of water.