Charles Leander Weed
Encyclopedia
Charles Leander Weed was an American
photographer, who was born in New York state in 1824, and died in 1903. He is perhaps best known for being one of the earliest photographers, if not the first photographer, to enter and photograph
what is now Yosemite National Park
.
In 1854, during the California Gold Rush
, Weed moved to Sacramento, California
, and was a camera operator in the daguerreotype
portrait studio of George J. Watson. In 1855, Weed adopted the wet collodion
technique, and his photographs of Gold Rush miners and settlement were much admired.
Entrepreneur James Hutchings
and others ventured into the area of what is now known as Yosemite Valley
in 1855, becoming the Valley's first tourists. After returning to Mariposa
Hutchings wrote an article about his experience which appeared in the August 9, 1855 issue of the Mariposa Gazette and was later published in various forms nationally.
Hutchings brought Weed to the Valley in the summer of 1859. Weed took the first known photographs of the Valley's features, and a September exhibition in San Francisco
presented them to the public. Hutchings published four installments of "The Great Yo-semite Valley" from October 1859 to March 1860 in his magazine; these articles contained woodcuts based on Weed's photographs. A book by Hutchings titled Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in California collected these articles and the book stayed in print well into the 1870s.
Beginning in 1860, Weed started extensive traveling, including trips to Hong Kong (where he briefly established a studio), Hawaii, and the Far East (in 1867). Also in 1867, he presented his work at the Paris
Exposition Universelle
, where he won an award for landscape photography.
In 1872, Weed made another visit to Yosemite, probably in the company of well-known Yosemite photographer Eadweard Muybridge
. Weed concluded his career by working as a photoengraver
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
photographer, who was born in New York state in 1824, and died in 1903. He is perhaps best known for being one of the earliest photographers, if not the first photographer, to enter and photograph
Photograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
what is now Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
.
In 1854, during the California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
, Weed moved to Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, and was a camera operator in the daguerreotype
Daguerreotype
The daguerreotype was the first commercially successful photographic process. The image is a direct positive made in the camera on a silvered copper plate....
portrait studio of George J. Watson. In 1855, Weed adopted the wet collodion
Collodion process
The collodion process is an early photographic process. It was introduced in the 1850s and by the end of that decade it had almost entirely replaced the first practical photographic process, the daguerreotype. During the 1880s the collodion process, in turn, was largely replaced by gelatin dry...
technique, and his photographs of Gold Rush miners and settlement were much admired.
Entrepreneur James Hutchings
James Mason Hutchings
James Mason Hutchings was an American businessman and one of the principal promoters of what is now Yosemite National Park....
and others ventured into the area of what is now known as Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of California, carved out by the Merced River. The valley is about long and up to a mile deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines...
in 1855, becoming the Valley's first tourists. After returning to Mariposa
Mariposa, California
Mariposa is a census-designated place in and the county seat of Mariposa County, California, United States. The population was 2,173 at the 2010 census, up from 1,373 at the 2000 census. Its name is Spanish for "butterfly", after the flocks of Monarchs seen overwintering there by early...
Hutchings wrote an article about his experience which appeared in the August 9, 1855 issue of the Mariposa Gazette and was later published in various forms nationally.
Hutchings brought Weed to the Valley in the summer of 1859. Weed took the first known photographs of the Valley's features, and a September exhibition in San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
presented them to the public. Hutchings published four installments of "The Great Yo-semite Valley" from October 1859 to March 1860 in his magazine; these articles contained woodcuts based on Weed's photographs. A book by Hutchings titled Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in California collected these articles and the book stayed in print well into the 1870s.
Beginning in 1860, Weed started extensive traveling, including trips to Hong Kong (where he briefly established a studio), Hawaii, and the Far East (in 1867). Also in 1867, he presented his work at the Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
Exposition Universelle
Exposition Universelle (1867)
The Exposition Universelle of 1867 was a World Exposition held in Paris, France, in 1867.-Conception:In 1864, Emperor Napoleon III decreed that an international exposition should be held in Paris in 1867. A commission was appointed with Prince Jerome Napoleon as president, under whose direction...
, where he won an award for landscape photography.
In 1872, Weed made another visit to Yosemite, probably in the company of well-known Yosemite photographer Eadweard Muybridge
Eadweard Muybridge
Eadweard J. Muybridge was an English photographer who spent much of his life in the United States. He is known for his pioneering work on animal locomotion which used multiple cameras to capture motion, and his zoopraxiscope, a device for projecting motion pictures that pre-dated the flexible...
. Weed concluded his career by working as a photoengraver
Photoengraving
Photoengraving also known as photo-chemical milling is a process of engraving using photographic processing techniques. The full form of photoengraving is photo mechanical process in the graphic arts, used principally for reproducing illustrations. The subject is photographed, and the image is...
.