El Capitan Monolith Emerging Through Valley Mist and Storm Clouds (1927)

The sheer vertical cliff face of El Capitan emerging from low-hanging storm clouds and drifting winter mist in Yosemite Valley. — El Capitan Monolith Emerging Through Valley Mist and Storm Clouds (1927) · Donald A. Hall Estate Collection

A moody, atmospheric masterwork of wilderness landscape photography, Donald A. Hall Sr. captured the sheer vertical buttress of El Capitan rising into clearing storm clouds. Low-hanging fog and drifting mist cling to the 3,000-foot granite monolith, partially veiling Cathedral Rocks and the valley canyon below. Hall recorded the dramatic shifting weather of the High Sierra, utilizing natural contrast and atmospheric moisture to emphasize the immense scale of Yosemite's geological formations.