Vernal Falls, Yosemite National Park. de Pillsbury, Arthur

Pillsbury's Pictures, Inc., [early 1900s]. Orotone print, 6.5 x 16.5 inches, in the original gold-toned frame, overall 9.5 x 19.5. Frame scratched and worn, image fine. § An attractive early view of the rushing waters of Vernal Falls in Yosemite. Arthur Pillsbury (1870-1946) was an extraordinary photojournalist and inventor who set up a studio in Yosemite in 1907 with the goal of producing images that celebrated the landscape and inspired others to protect it. (When he realised that the wildflower population was declining in the valley, he invented a time lapse motion picture camera just to capture their beauty and convinced the National Park Service to change destructive moving practices.) Orotones, photos printed on clear glass with highlights of gold powder, were one of his specialties, popular for their intrinsic beauty and arresting depth of field, as seen in this example.