Gezicht op Yosemite Valley, Californië before 1886

This photograph of Yosemite Valley was taken by George Fiske, sometime in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. It is an albumen print, a process involving paper coated with egg white to create a glossy surface. This would have been exposed to a negative under sunlight, then washed, toned, and fixed. The albumen print was a popular photographic medium that enabled the mass production of images. This one is bound into a book, evidence of how photographic prints became widely available as commercial products. The chemical process, of course, is crucial to the effect, giving the scene clarity, depth, and a tonal range from deep blacks to bright whites. Yosemite became a favorite subject for photographers like Fiske because it spoke to American ideals of sublime nature, ripe for exploration and exploitation. So next time you see a photograph, think about the labor and materials involved in its making, and the social and cultural forces that shaped its creation. It might change the way you see the world.