{"id":273972,"date":"2025-11-05T23:25:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T23:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/273972\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T23:25:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T23:25:13","slug":"photographer-retraces-oregons-brutal-trail-of-tears-with-wet-plate-camera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/273972\/","title":{"rendered":"Photographer Retraces Oregon’s Brutal Trail of Tears With Wet-Plate Camera"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/p>\n

By any measure, photographer Nolan Streitberger<\/a> has built a practice that bridges art, history, and the profoundly personal. His work, particularly his acclaimed project Oregon\u2019s Trail of Tears, transforms beautiful photography into both historical document and dialogue, a means of reclaiming memory and giving voice to stories long overlooked. But Streitberger\u2019s photographic journey began almost by accident. <\/p>\n

\u201cI first learned photography in my junior year in high school. I was accepted into Oregon State University\u2019s JumpstART program, a pre-college art program for high school students. My first choice was painting, my second was illustration, and my last choice was photography. When I found out I\u2019d been assigned photography, I was pretty upset, I didn\u2019t even own a camera,\u201d Streitberger recalls.<\/p>\n

Unpredictable Creative Discovery <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a story that speaks to the unpredictable nature of creative discovery. What began as a reluctant class assignment soon became a lifelong pursuit. Armed with his father\u2019s old Vivitar 35mm SLR, Streitberger entered the darkroom for the first time, unaware of the significance that moment would hold.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as I walked into that class taught by Harrison Branch, I knew I was going to love it. We rolled our own film, learned how to develop it, and make prints in the darkroom. I was hooked,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

That spark ignited a curiosity that would shape his artistic identity. Years later, after working as a graphic designer, Streitberger found himself at another crossroads when a layoff at Hewlett-Packard coincided with his wife\u2019s return to the workforce. It was a difficult time, but also a pivotal one.<\/p>\n

\u201cI picked up the camera again and I haven\u2019t put it down since,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

That return to photography marked not just a creative revival, but the beginning of a deeper exploration of meaning and method in his work.<\/p>\n

\"Sepia-toned,Day 0 \u2014 Fort Lane \"BlackDay 1, 2, 3 \u2014 Gold Hill \"Sepia-tonedDay 4 \u2014 Foots Creek 1 An Artist Working in the Medium of Photography <\/p>\n

For Streitberger, photography is not merely about capturing what the eye sees; instead, it\u2019s about translating emotion and experience through the visual language of light, shadow, and texture. His projects vary widely, yet each is guided by a desire to connect image to idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cI consider myself an artist who works in the medium of photography. I like my work to create dialogue and make people think. Sometimes I achieve this with subtle undertones of metaphor, but lately it\u2019s bold and in your face,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

His most ambitious project, Oregon\u2019s Trail of Tears, exemplifies that philosophy. Created using the historic wet plate collodion process, the series documents the route taken during the forced removal of Southern Oregon\u2019s Indigenous tribes in the 1850s. The project blends research, fieldwork, and artistry to reveal how landscapes can bear witness to trauma and survival.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wife and daughter are registered tribal members. The Native American culture is a large part of our household as we are very involved with the tribe. I knew I wanted to blend Oregon history with my photography, not only history, but the impacts of Euro-American settlement and how it still resonates today,\u201d Streitberger explains. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhile reading microfilm reals in the National Archives database, I discovered the journal kept by the Indian Agent in charge of the removal of Southern Oregon tribes. This journal was remarkably detailed and recorded daily, it compelled me to narrow my focus down to documenting this specific journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sepia-tonedDay 7 & 8 \u2014 Jumpoff Joe Creek \"Sepia-tonedDay 9 \u2014 Smith Hill \"ADay 14 \u2014 Near the Weaver\u2019s Reconstructing a Forgotten Path <\/p>\n

Transforming that idea into a tangible visual narrative required years of research, patience, and technical ingenuity. Streitberger\u2019s process for Oregon\u2019s Trail of Tears began not with a camera, but with archives, maps, and microfilm reels.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spent a couple years using the Bureau of Land Management\u2019s digital archives and downloading original survey maps from the 1850s. I overlaid modern GIS maps over the antique survey maps in Photoshop and retraced the old road onto the modern map. This gave me the information I needed to then transfer that data into Google Maps. I did this for every mile of the Rogue River Trail of Tears,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom there I could easily measure the daily distances traveled and recorded in George H. Ambrose\u2019s Journal, the Indian Agent in charge of the forced removal. These distances aligned perfectly with the descriptions mentioned in his journal entries which allowed me to locate the camp locations. Once my research was completed, I could start photographing these sites.\u201d<\/p>\n

That research laid the groundwork for a photographic journey that was as much about discovery as creation. Each photograph required meticulous preparation, often in remote or inhospitable locations, guided by GPS coordinates drawn from his reconstructed route.<\/p>\n

The technical demands were equally daunting. Streitberger works with a portable darkroom, literally an Eskimo pop-up ice fishing tent, where he develops his plates on-site using nineteenth-century chemistry.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to bring my whole darkroom and all my supplies with me. I prepare and develop the plates inside the tent, adjusting the chemistry as the temperature changes. My collodion is stored in a cooler, and all my dry supplies in a tote bag. These supplies are always packed up and ready to go,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Even the act of setting up often became part of the experience. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people see me set up a tent, they often get upset or curious,\u201d he admits. \u201cOnce they see the camera and some of my images, they normally calm down and find it interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each session became a balance of art, science, and diplomacy, an echo of the challenges faced by early photographers who also worked under unpredictable circumstances.<\/p>\n

\"Sepia-tonedDay 15 \u2014 Round Prairie 3 \"ADay 18 \u2014 Camas Swall Creek \"Sepia-tonedDay 21 \u2014 The Applegates (Good) Seeing Landscapes as Portraits <\/p>\n

Although much of Streitberger\u2019s work focuses on places, it is, at its core, about people. His approach to photographing landscapes is guided by empathy and a sense of reverence for the human stories embedded within them.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of my work revolves around people, human life and our emotions. Even with these landscapes, I approach these sites like I\u2019m taking a portrait of them. It\u2019s about how humans and this land interact and affect each other,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

This philosophy informs both his creative process and his technical decisions. Whether using his Nikon D800 or his antique Eastman No. 33A large-format camera from 1935, Streitberger is guided less by convenience and more by the tactile connection between artist and image.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started shooting large format, experimenting with ortho-litho films and paper negatives. Now, if I\u2019m not shooting digital, I\u2019m using antique brass barrel lenses from the 1800s. My shutter is my hand,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s something deeply symbolic in that act, a human touch governing the moment when light meets film, as if each exposure becomes a handshake between the past and present.<\/p>\n

\"ADay 25 \u2014 Near Rich Creek \"ADay 9 \u2014 Smith Hill A Moment of Validation <\/p>\n

The creation of Oregon\u2019s Trail of Tears was filled with challenges, but also moments of profound affirmation. Among all the photographs in the series, one stands out to Streitberger as a turning point: Day 26: Mr. Smith\u2019s Farm.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was taking that photograph, I had my darkroom set up on the side of the highway and noticed a sign that read \u2018Historical Marker Ahead,\u2019\u201d he recalls. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe plaque marked the Daniel Smith Donation Land Claim home site from 1852. The journal entry for that day stated, \u2018We drove today a distance of twelve miles. Camped on an oak grove near the claim of Mr. Smith.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a moment when years of research, patience, and care aligned with extraordinary precision. Standing there with his camera, Streitberger realized that his reconstructed route, mapped entirely from home, had led him within fifty feet of the exact site described nearly two centuries earlier.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat moment brought validation to the whole project,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"Sepia-tonedDay 26 \u2014 Mr Smiths Farm Marker \"ADay 26 \u2014 Mr Smiths Farm Oaks Looking Ahead <\/p>\n

For Streitberger, the project is far from over, each completed image serves as both closure and invitation, inspiring him to continue exploring Oregon\u2019s complex and often painful history through photography.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to continue this project. There were several instances of forced removal here in Oregon. There was another trail of tears along the coast line, and of course Chief Joseph\u2019s Flight of the Nez Perce. But all of that takes a lot of time and money. As an artist, I have the time, but the money is the hardest part. Oregon\u2019s Trail of Tears was funded by grants from The National Endowment of the Arts, The Oregon Arts Commission, and The Kinsman Foundation,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

For now, he hopes to publish a photo book of Oregon\u2019s Trail of Tears and to further explore historical and alternative photographic processes that deepen his engagement with the medium\u2019s roots.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like learning old techniques and figuring out how to make them my own,\u201d Streitberger says.<\/p>\n

At its heart, Nolan Streitberger\u2019s work is about reflection, the pause between recognition and understanding. His practice reminds viewers that photography is not only about documenting what is visible, but about revealing what endures.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I open up a photograph and it stops me in my tracks,\u201d he says, \u201cI know I did it right.\u201d<\/p>\n

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