The big cedar, Bottle Pond 1893

This photograph of "The Big Cedar, Bottle Pond" was taken by Seneca Ray Stoddard, capturing a landscape aesthetic that was becoming popular at the turn of the century. But Stoddard’s images also participate in the romanticizing of untouched wilderness that justified colonial expansion. Landscape photography often overlooks the displacement and erasure of Indigenous peoples, whose ancestral lands were being “discovered” and commodified. What might appear as a simple, scenic view also encapsulates complex narratives of land ownership, resource extraction, and environmental transformation. Consider how Stoddard's composition, while seemingly objective, is also a constructed viewpoint. The deep shadows and lush details evoke a sense of sublime beauty, obscuring the human impact on the environment. This image invites us to consider the layers of history and power embedded within representations of nature.