Watkins, Carleton E.

Watkins, Carleton E.

(1829–1916) photographer; born in Oneonta, N.Y. Lured to California by the gold rush, he took odd jobs before learning photography in San Francisco. He photographed Yosemite with stereoscopic and special wide-view cameras (1861–67), winning a gold medal at the Paris Exposition in 1868. Unfortunately few of his negatives remain, as they were lost to creditors in the 1870s; he reshot, but lost them again in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.