Untitled c. 1870s

This photograph was taken by Samuel Bourne in India at an unknown date using the collodion process. The British Empire’s expansion was enabled by photographs such as this one. Bourne formed a commercial photography studio in India, taking photos that were sent back to England. Bourne’s images became a surrogate for those who could not travel to the distant land. The calm, idyllic, and romantic view of the landscape is a visual code meant to suggest the benevolent nature of British colonial rule. The two native people walking along the shore are dwarfed by the landscape, implicitly placing them beneath the natural world and the British who have the vision to capture it. Historians can study photographs such as this one to understand the complicated social dynamics of imperialism. Through photographs and other visual media, we can better understand the social conditions that shaped artistic production.