At Winterdyne on the Severn c. 1860s

Curator: Immediately striking is the light in this gelatin-silver print; it feels so incredibly soft and filtered through those tall trees. Editor: This is “At Winterdyne on the Severn,” a landscape photograph attributed to Major Francis Gresley, dating back to the 1860s. What draws you to this quiet scene? Curator: There’s a delicate balance between the wildness of the woods and this carefully constructed pathway. Those figures look rather like decorative dolls. It asks, “who is nature really *for* in these kinds of images, and who gets left out?" Editor: Note how Gresley meticulously captures the texture of the tree bark, juxtaposed with the smooth, almost luminescent dresses of the figures nestled by the path. It's all about how light interacts with different surfaces. How does this calculated composition underscore your reading? Curator: It brings to mind how often photography of this period reinforces social stratification. Those figures almost appear as property themselves amidst that manufactured naturalness. One really has to question what is truly "natural," and the power dynamics it showcases in Britain's colonial power in this specific era of modernity. Editor: The use of the gelatin-silver process, with its capacity for nuanced tonal range, really allowed Gresley to articulate a social narrative rooted in both materials and historical context. Think about the labor, too, in preparing the chemicals, coating the glass plates... it all adds to the story here. Curator: It all creates this very staged and constrained experience within this setting. Editor: It makes me ponder the cultural investment into such representations of land and leisure, and wonder about Major Gresley's other bodies of work! Curator: I leave the viewing of this image struck by its lingering critique and representation of landscape, luxury and social power.