Like so many things in life, photography runs in cycles based on reaction and a desire for change, even if that means reinventing the wheel at times. Sometimes these changes lack the proper historical perspective of all that has gone before. Other times, the changes sought harken back to seemingly safer, more predictable times.

In the post-Civil War years, American photographers began turning their attention from the war to the West. They brought home images of the incredible, endless landscapes of the new frontier to an East hungry for expansion. They built an enthusiasm for these places that would help lead to the founding of the national park system, starting with Yellowstone National Park in 1872.

Today, more than a century later, nature photographers are still bringing home images...