Well, wait for the courts to decide, but I’m pretty sure you are going to be disappointed. You can’t copyright a work that has no author, that is well established.
It’s difficult to even claim a copyright on a work that has nature as the subject, even if you did author it, since natural forms are part of the public domain. So, even an unmodified photograph of a monkey, that the photographer took himself, would not necessarily be protectable.
The copyright exists the second the photo is made.
Your understanding of copyright seems to be misunderstood. No, you cannot copyright a photo of Half Dome with an attempt to exclude anyone else from making and selling a photo of it.
However, tell Ansel Adams’ estate that his photos of Half Dome are not copyrighted.