Horseshoe Falls en de Terrapin Tower, gezien vanaf Goat Island 1859 - 1862

Curator: Wow, this photograph feels almost dreamlike. It's got this eerie quality about it... is that Niagara Falls? Editor: It is indeed. What you’re seeing is an anonymous photograph dating from 1859 to 1862. The full title is "Horseshoe Falls and the Terrapin Tower, seen from Goat Island." Curator: Right, the Tower! It looms, like a ghostly sentinel amidst all that crashing water. And the whole thing is rendered in such delicate shades of sepia... it reminds me of looking into the past, or perhaps even a parallel universe where things are both familiar and unsettling. Editor: Well, that blend of the familiar and unsettling was, perhaps, precisely the intention of early photography, wouldn’t you say? Photography allowed for an unprecedented access to different locales. This particular view of Niagara, taken from Goat Island, shows not just the raw power of nature, but the burgeoning industry of tourism built around it. Look at the walkways, the people dwarfed by the falls, the Terrapin Tower itself! Curator: Industry meets the sublime, quite literally! It is kind of funny though, isn’t it? The brave, or foolhardy, people out there walking right up to the edge. I almost feel I'm on the precipice with them, as though one wrong step and the lens itself will plunge into the churning depths! Editor: The popularity of Niagara Falls in the 19th century says so much about the evolving relationship between humans and their environment. On one hand, there's a genuine fascination with the sublime, with the raw power of nature. But there's also this undeniable desire to control it, to tame it, to build structures around it, allowing easier access. It becomes a spectacle. Curator: A controlled spectacle. But does capturing an image ever really control the feeling, the experience of a thing? Does photography even get close? Standing here now, I want to throw myself into the heart of that deluge... Editor: Well, fortunately for the photograph, it remains pristine! Its aged tones give us much to think about. Curator: Indeed. This humble photo holds a torrent of thoughts, doesn't it?