As the director, producer and cinematographer of the National Geographic Documentary Film Free SOLO, which he co-directed with Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Chin captured rock climber Alex Honnold's nail-biting free solo ascent of Yosemite National Park's El Capitan. By the early 1850s, he was widely respected, and some elected officials appeared to the Supreme Court to settle the national discussion in excess of slavery. Biographical Memoirs.