Landscape in the Nilgiri mountains, India 1867 - 1870

Samuel Bourne made this photograph, ‘Landscape in the Nilgiri mountains, India’, using the collodion process, during his time in India in the 1860s. Bourne was one of many European photographers who documented the Indian landscape, often framing it through a colonial lens. This image captures the Nilgiri mountains, an area inhabited by several indigenous communities. Bourne's photographs, while aesthetically beautiful, often overlook the complex social and political dynamics of the region, reducing it to a picturesque backdrop for colonial narratives. The technical skill involved in producing such images shouldn’t obscure the power dynamics inherent in their creation and circulation. Consider the absence of human presence in many of Bourne's landscapes, which reinforces a sense of the land as empty or unclaimed, ready for colonial appropriation. This photograph invites us to reflect on the ways in which landscape photography can perpetuate particular narratives, shaping our understanding of both place and identity.