In 1861 photography in the field was demanding and difficult. Watkins had his 18 x 22 mammoth plate camera specially made. It was designed to accommodate the large glass sheets he needed and was unique at the time. The bulky equipment and supplies were carried over rough terrain to reach vantage points in Yosemite. Watkins produced his negatives using the wet-plate process which involved coating a glass plate with a light sensitive liquid emulsion, exposing it in a stereo camera and developing the image in a dark-tent, all before the emulson could dry. This view shows Watkins or an assistant, sitting with the photographic equipment under the Upper Falls. His darktent, necessary to be used in the wet plate process, is on the left. By any standard, it was a remarkable feat for Watkins to carry this large and heavy equipment through the rugged Yosemite terrain.