River View, Sentinel, 3270 Feet 1861

Editor: This is "River View, Sentinel, 3270 Feet" by Carleton Watkins, an albumen print from 1861. It has a stillness to it. What's interesting to you about this image? Curator: What strikes me is the photographic process itself. Albumen prints were complex, relying on egg whites to bind the light-sensitive chemicals to the paper. Consider the labor involved: gathering eggs, preparing the solution, the exposure, all done in the field. It's a deliberate act of mediating the natural landscape. Editor: So, it’s less about the scenery and more about the actual making of it? Curator: Precisely. The ‘plein-air’ aspect is significant, isn’t it? Watkins wasn't just pointing a camera. He was transporting and processing materials in a specific location to create these images. Think about what it took to haul the necessary equipment for these monumental photographs. This work makes one think of the raw materials like silver and glass. It's tied to extraction and industrial processes. Editor: I see, the materiality transforms how we interpret it. What's the significance of him capturing the height in the title? Curator: Ah, the title directs us to the specifics of surveying. It implies a quantification of nature that relates to resource extraction and the exploitation of the West, making us ponder on what the intention really was when choosing this shot, from this specific place. The vantage point, literally 3270 feet up, becomes a tool for assessment. Editor: So it’s a landscape, but also documentation… with that commercial edge? Curator: Exactly! Landscape transformed into a resource through the very act of photographic reproduction and promotion. We see nature filtered through commercial interests. This forces us to consider how art objects were really made and sold at the time. Editor: It’s amazing how unpacking the materials and labor opens up new ways of thinking about the image. I didn’t realize albumen prints could be so complex. Curator: Indeed! Examining the “how” gives a critical lens into the “why” of art-making. The means of production shapes the message, even within a seemingly straightforward landscape.