History of the American West, 1860-1920: Photographs from the Collection of the Denver Public Library

Go directly to the collection, History of the American West, 1860-1920, in American Memory, or view a Summary of Resources related to the collection. Arts and humanities topics include:

Letter Writing and Historical Comprehension | Newspaper Reporting and Historical Comprehension | Short Story Writing | Nature Photography and Image Analysis | Travel Brochure

Nature Photography and Image Analysis

Zuni pueblo farming. Photograph by Timothy O'Sullivan

Since the invention of the camera, photographers from Timothy O’Sullivan to Ansel Adams have focused on nature. Nearly 1,000 nature photographs are represented in the collection’s images of U.S. national parks, found by searching on national park. While nature photographers all depict some aspect of the natural world in their images, each one makes unique choices about what to photograph and how.

Some photographers might be interested in the natural object itself, its scientific classification, its patterns of growth, its location. Others might be more interested in the visual qualities of the scene. Others might be interested in the way the scene makes them feel. By thinking about what’s in a nature photograph besides nature, you can get a better understanding of all the different elements of the image and the choices that the artist made in creating it.

Where Earth and Sky Meet

Winter

• There are many photographs of nature in this collection. Which ones catch your attention and why? How do they make you feel? What words would you use to describe them?
• How would you describe the composition of the photograph? What are the major shapes and lines, and how are they arranged? Are they pleasing to the eye? Do they make you feel a certain way?
• Is there strong contrast between black and white, or is the photograph mostly all white, black, or gray? How does the photograph's contrast or lack of contrast contribute to its impact?
• Are there a lot of textures in the photograph? Are there a lot of lines? Colors? How do these elements contribute to the photograph's impact or to your enjoyment of it?
• What is the relationship between images and feeling? What are the ways in which images can affect our emotions?

Letter Writing and Historical Comprehension | Newspaper Reporting and Historical Comprehension | Short Story Writing | Nature Photography and Image Analysis | Travel Brochure