Long Lake 1891

Seneca Ray Stoddard created this photograph of Long Lake as part of the "Report of the Forest Commission". Stoddard's work emerged during a time of growing awareness of environmental conservation, yet it also coincided with increased tourism and development in the Adirondacks. In this image, we see figures, possibly tourists or guides, with their equipment near the lake's edge. The composition invites us to consider the relationship between humanity and nature, and how that relationship is mediated by commerce and leisure. Whose experiences and perspectives are prioritized in these landscapes? Stoddard’s photographs, while beautiful, often sanitize the landscape, omitting the labor and the displacement of Indigenous peoples that enabled its transformation into a recreational space. The romantic vision of untouched wilderness masks complex power dynamics and historical injustices. Consider the emotional impact of these curated views, and how they shape our understanding and valuation of the natural world.