In Dove Dale (Staffordshire Side) c. 1880s

Peter Henry Emerson made this photograph, titled "In Dove Dale (Staffordshire Side)," using platinum print. Emerson challenged the conventions of Victorian photography, which often favored staged scenes and artificial lighting. He instead promoted what he called "naturalistic photography," aiming to capture the beauty of the English countryside as he saw it. This photograph shows a tranquil river flowing through a lush valley. The soft focus and muted tones create a sense of atmosphere and immediacy. The image evokes the Romantic era and its fascination with nature. Dove Dale was a popular tourist destination, and this image speaks to the growing interest in leisure and recreation among the middle classes. Emerson’s work also contributed to the development of photography as an art form, as opposed to just a tool for documentation. The image's meaning is necessarily contingent on its time, and can be better understood through the use of contemporary resources to understand its social and institutional context.