The Great Falls of Yellowstone

When the Northern Pacific Railway extended its tracks to Glendive, Montana, in 1881, Frank Jay Haynes applied to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to become the official photographer of Yellowstone Park. His request was not granted, but undaunted, he journeyed to the park for the first time that year and over the course of two months made more than 200 negatives. This view of the dramatic Lower Falls was made a couple of years later. Eventually, Haynes operated a small photographic studio in the park and sold his work to tourists. He loved Yellowstone and spent time there every year until his death, which he nearly hastened in 1887 during a trip to photograph Yellowstone in winter, a body of work for which he is now justly admired.