Twin Redwoods, Palo Alto 1870

Carleton E. Watkins's "Twin Redwoods, Palo Alto" (1870) is a striking example of 19th-century landscape photography. Watkins, known for his large-format photographs of the American West, captures the majesty of two towering redwood trees standing beside a railroad track. The image's stark composition and focus on the trees, with a backdrop of a hazy sky and a wooden fence, emphasizes the monumental scale of the redwoods and their role in the expanding landscape. The photograph is a testament to the transformative power of the railroad and its impact on the natural environment of California.