How Photography Won the West

The rise of America's national parks is interwined with the advent of popular photography. In a 19th-century world devoid of motorized transportation, the only vehicle to the country’s natural treasures was through a photographer's lens. The portraits brought the openness of the western frontier to the East Coast tenements, sparking the public's desire to preserve the American wilderness.

Jamie Allen chronicles this age-old relationship in her new book, Picturing America’s National Parks. By juxtaposing images that span multiple generations, she explores the covergance of art and conservation history. From the “pure” and “straight” stills of Ansel Adams, to the digital landscapes of today, Allen points out that photographs are intricate threads that shape how society views the natural world.

The movement itself can be traced back to the pages of Hutchings’ California Magazine. Between October 1859 and March 1860, the publication ran the "The Great Yo-Semite Valley," a four-part photo series by Charles Leander Weed that was only circulated as stereographs. In the end, Weed received no credit for the images. A year later, the high-quality, mammoth-sized plates created by Carleton Watkins spurred national intrigue in the Yosemite Valley. Both sets of portraits became so popular that they were eventually used to inspire Congress to protect the region. It was the start of a deep alliance between photographers and environmentalists, one that's still celebrated and tried today.