El Capitan Monolith Soaring Above Yosemite Valley Meadows (1927)

Low-angle view looking upward from the valley meadows at the sheer 3,000-foot vertical granite face of El Capitan. — El Capitan Monolith Soaring Above Yosemite Valley Meadows (1927) · Donald A. Hall Estate Collection

Standing on the valley floor among oak trees and open meadows, Donald A. Hall Sr. captured this imposing low-angle perspective of El Capitan. The sheer 3,000-foot granite monolith dominates the frame, displaying its distinctive vertical joints, rock scars, and flat summit against a light sky, recording the monumental scale of the world's most famous rock-climbing wall during Hall's 1927 California travels.