Kenneth Dupee Swan
Encyclopedia
Nature photography
Nature photography refers to a wide range of photography taken outdoors and devoted to displaying natural elements such as landscapes, wildlife, plants, and close-ups of natural scenes and textures...
in the early part of the 20th century. During his career in the USDA Forest Service
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
(1911–1947) he took many picture of the American Northwest.
Swan captured the face of public lands, revealing its wildness and value to the American public. His messages of long ago still emanate from his images - the value of conserving public lands and the joy of living in magnificent wild places.
Swan first learned to love America's wilderness while rambling the hills of his native Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. His "first love was a range of hills — the Blue Hills of Milton and Quincy — high points on the south rim of the Boston Basin." As he later described it, "This was my wilderness, easily reached from home by bicycle, trolley, or even on foot, and here I spent countless carefree hours in all seasons.... Here, too, was born a desire to become a forester ... a decision I have never regretted."
He arrived in Missoula, Montana
Missoula, Montana
Missoula is a city located in western Montana and is the county seat of Missoula County. The 2010 Census put the population of Missoula at 66,788 and the population of Missoula County at 109,299. Missoula is the principal city of the Missoula Metropolitan Area...
in the summer of 1911. With a master's degree in forestry from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, he was among a cadre of young energetic foresters who joined the newly created Forest Service where he was appointed as a forest assistant.
He surveyed homestead sites, planted trees, and cruised timber in the Jefferson National Forest
Lewis and Clark National Forest
Lewis and Clark National Forest is located in west central Montana, United States. Spanning , the forest is managed as two separate zones. The eastern sections, under the Jefferson Division, is a mixture of grass and shrublands dotted with "island" pockets of forested areas. Here, cattle leases to...
(now Lewis and Clark), Sioux National Forest
Custer National Forest
Custer National Forest is located primarily in the southern part of the U.S. state of Montana but also has separate sections in northwestern South Dakota. With a total area of 1,278,279 acres , the forest comprises over 10 separate sections...
(now Custer), and Clearwater National Forest
Clearwater National Forest
Clearwater National Forest is located in North Central Idaho in the northwestern United States. The forest is bounded on the east by the state of Montana, on the north by the Idaho Panhandle National Forest, and on the south and west by the Nez Perce National Forest and Palouse Prairie.]The forest...
. In 1913, the agency reassigned him to the Northern Region headquarters in Missoula
Missoula, Montana
Missoula is a city located in western Montana and is the county seat of Missoula County. The 2010 Census put the population of Missoula at 66,788 and the population of Missoula County at 109,299. Missoula is the principal city of the Missoula Metropolitan Area...
, where he began a seven-year stint as a topographic draftsman, an "assignment which brought... great satisfaction." He would spend the remainder of his career working out of the regional office.
His work in forestry eventually led into the arena of public information and photography. In the 1920s the Forest Service established the Information and Education Branch. Already recognized as a photographer, Swan was soon transferred to it. Through his pictures and many public presentations, Swan revealed the unique beauty of remote, wild areas in Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, and the Dakotas.
Swan's images were used to illustrate a great variety of Forest Service publications, many of which he also authored. They also appeared in publications ranging from National Geographic
National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic, formerly the National Geographic Magazine, is the official journal of the National Geographic Society. It published its first issue in 1888, just nine months after the Society itself was founded...
to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor is an international newspaper published daily online, Monday to Friday, and weekly in print. It was started in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist. As of 2009, the print circulation was 67,703.The CSM is a newspaper that covers...
. Swan regularly toured the region giving lectures on forest conservation illustrated by both still slides and moving pictures.
By Swan's retirement in 1947, his work had become art that transcended the mere recording of a place in time. Today, almost 100 years later, the photographs still engage and entrance viewers and tell a resounding story about public lands in the West.
In 1968, he published Splendid Was the Trail, a memoir that offered a detailed look at life and work in a remote, sparsely populated region during the formative years of the Forest Service.
A collection of his photographs is now in the National Archives
National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives and Records Administration is an independent agency of the United States government charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records and with increasing public access to those documents, which comprise the National Archives...
in Washington, D.C, as well as in many exhibits throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.