Wildland History: Photography & US Public Land, Past & Present
- Lily
- Feb 25
- 5 min read
Snapshots of the United State’s most iconic plots of land have continually enamored viewers and spurred policies for preservation. Features like Yosemite’s monolithic granite cliffs and Yellowstone’s geothermal geysers have been photographed countless times, attracting millions of visitors annually and serving as the global face of the country’s vast public land system. National parks came of age alongside the camera, shaping a style of landscape art that framed nature as existing in isolation from humans. Tracing the history of photography in the parks provides interesting context for today’s landscape photographers and outdoor enthusiasts alike.
Setting up the shot: landscape art & the early years of NPS
Well before the National Parks Service was founded, artistic renditions brought scenes from the remote US interior to the eyes of countless Americans. Vast and supposedly “untouched” mountain vistas were replicated in drawings by Thomas Ayres and photographs by Carleton Watkins in the mid-19th century, and exhibited in galleries for New York’s upper society to marvel over. This came at a time when westward expansion was on the mind of the nation. The violent seizure of land from Indigenous people was justified via a “manifest destiny,” where the United States was fated to extend from coast to coast. In art and popular culture, nature had traditionally been considered a force to be conquered, but by the turn of the 20th century and so-called closure of the American frontier, a new sentiment was beginning to emerge.
It is important to recognize that the designated wilderness we enjoy recreating in today was never pristine nor without human influence. An extensive history of Indigenous land use and maintenance was intentionally suppressed, alongside the tremendous bloodshed that accompanied the forced displacement of people from over 98% of their ancestral territory, according to a 2021 research study by Farrell et. al. The proliferation of a fabricated and false nostalgia for a period of western history devoid of human impact is at the heart of early land preservation campaigns and media depicting national parks.
By the early 1900s, Americans were increasingly turning to images of dramatic landscapes to parse out a national identity amidst industrialization and foreign conflicts. Yellowstone National Park had previously been established in 1872 after a collection of artwork depicting the area by Thomas Moran was presented to congress. NPS was authorized in 1916, and a large exhibit of American landscape art was held the following year, cementing the role that imagery would play in the continued preservation of public land.
Getting into focus: 20th century photography & conservation trends in the parks
The 1930s and ‘40s were a heyday for photography in the parks. Most outdoor enthusiasts are familiar with the work of Ansel Adams, whose dramatic shots of the Yosemite Valley and beyond are some of the most recognizable images of the American outdoors. Adams’ style became the gold standard for wilderness photography, aligning with the work of earlier artists by intentionally framing shots to exclude evidence of human visitors, even propping his camera up on his car’s roof to avoid getting any other vehicles in frame. By displaying US landscapes devoid of everyday people, Adams’ photographs supported the popular conservation ethos of his time, where public lands were being protected for only some members of the American public to enjoy. This mentality is also demonstrated by the exclusionary beliefs held by prominent outdoor advocates like John Muir and other members of the Sierra Club, a group Adams himself would work alongside.
Although the style Adams inspired arguably remains the most mainstream genre of landscape photography, other artists during his same period of parks history took a more visitor-centric approach to documentation, including George Alexander Grant, the first NPS chief photographer. Grant took thousands of images of US public land between 1929 and 1954, many of which displayed people having fun and interacting with the land around them. When compared to Adams’ solitary panoramas, Grant’s photos appear much more inviting, allowing viewers to imagine themselves recreating alongside the subjects in his images. This approach can be seen in contemporary land conservation campaigns, which target outdoor sports and recreation enthusiasts, advocating for multi-use areas to appeal to more supporters.
Snapping the shutter: capturing the parks today
Both Adams’ and Grant’s influence can be seen in the work of landscape photographers today. Just as there is no one “right” way to enjoy public land, there is no singularly correct way to document it. As an avid nature photographer myself, I revere Adams’ work and feel drawn to create my own shots that emulate the sense of serenity I feel when I look at his. I also believe it is valuable to understand the historical context of landscape-centric photos taken in national parks. The impulse to erase humanity from depictions of wilderness can be rationalized as an individual creative choice, or part of a larger narrative that neglects the continuous impact humans have had on the North American continent, from the millenia before Europeans arrived to the hours of labor trail crews put into maintaining access to the backcountry today.
Documenting the views I’ve witnessed on foot or by horseback was what drew me back to photography after a several year hiatus when my free time was in high demand between college and work. My camera rarely left my side during highschool, where I spent countless lunch periods tucked away in the school darkroom obsessing over exposure times and aperture sizes. Documenting wildlife and wild landscapes brings me great creative satisfaction, a feeling which seems increasingly fleeting in our current era, where AI-generated images and the ease and ready access of cell phone cameras has fundamentally changed photography as an art form.
This historical deep dive was inspired by current advocacy regarding federal funding and support for public land. Social media images and hashtags have likely contributed to the influx of visitors to national parks throughout the previous decade. Americans are consuming more landscape images than ever before. Like past eras of parks history, the way we choose to depict public land visually will contribute to the prevailing philosophy that explains why it deserves to be preserved.
Please note: A historical interpretation is just an argument, not the only way to explain connections between people, events, or time periods. If you have thoughts on this topic that you’d like to contribute, please send me an email at rideroutsideinfo@gmail.com
All photos taken by Lily Kun.
Works Cited:
“National Park Service Treasured Landscapes: Art Collections Tell America’s Stories,” n.d. https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/landscape_art/art_founding_nps.html.
Jsrouthier. “Reading and Re-Reading Ansel Adams’s My Camera in the National Parks.” Panorama, November 9, 2022. https://journalpanorama.org/article/re-reading-american-photographs/reading-and-re-reading/.
Aperture. “A History of Photography in America’s National Parks,” April 22, 2021. https://aperture.org/editorial/a-history-of-photography-in-americas-national-parks/.
National Parks Conservation Association. “Landscapes for the People,” n.d. https://www.npca.org/articles/478-landscapes-for-the-people.
Sierra Club. “Pulling Down Our Monuments,” July 22, 2020. https://www.sierraclub.org/michael-brune/2020/07/john-muir-early-history-sierra-club.
“How Wild.” NPR, n.d. https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510383/how-wild.
Farrell, Justin, Paul Berne Burow, Kathryn McConnell, Jude Bayham, Kyle Whyte, and Gal Koss. “Effects of Land Dispossession and Forced Migration on Indigenous Peoples in North America.” Science 374, no. 6567 (October 28, 2021). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abe4943.
