Gezicht op Banias before 1875

Francis Frith made this albumen silver print of Banias as part of his commercial photography enterprise in the mid-19th century. Frith's photography needs to be understood in the context of British colonialism and the Victorian era fascination with the ‘Orient.’ His images catered to a European audience eager to consume romanticized views of distant lands. The composition here reinforces a sense of the exotic. The act of photographing and documenting landscapes was intertwined with asserting power and control over territories, echoing the colonial mindset of the time. The image presents a seemingly objective view, but it's shaped by the photographer's cultural background and the expectations of the intended audience. To fully understand Frith’s work, we can look at travel literature, colonial records, and the history of photography as a tool of empire. By investigating the social and institutional contexts, we can interpret the photograph beyond its aesthetic qualities.