Gezicht op de Radauwasserfall nabij Bad Harzburg c. 1855 - 1880

This is E. Rose’s stereoscopic photograph, "Gezicht op de Radauwasserfall nabij Bad Harzburg." Stereoscopic photography, which creates the illusion of three-dimensionality, became popular in the mid-19th century. This artistic choice reflects a broader cultural fascination with realism and the desire to capture and replicate the world. The waterfall itself becomes a subject of both scientific and aesthetic interest. As photography democratized image-making, this genre provided access to scenes, like this waterfall, to an increasingly broad audience. Photographs of landscapes, such as this, capture a specific moment but also reflect a changing relationship with nature, as technological progress began to alter landscapes. There's an inherent tension between the desire to document nature's purity and the subtle intrusion of human presence through the act of photography itself. It causes us to reflect on our impact on the planet.