Watch for long enough, and anything that appears stable will reveal its true perpetual state of instability. Photographs seem to combat this problem, as we expect them to capture decisive moments, but how do we know which moments are decisive? 

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For the images in instability, we used contemporary versions of 19th-century dry collodion plates, 20th-century film, and new digital technologies to record ecosystems deemed healthy and stable, only because we’ve left them alone. All these methods expand our visual range, while challenging our assumed objective reality. For example, the “economic progress” of westward expansion ironically created the context for preservation of old-growth forests—tiny islands of nature within a vast ocean of unchecked development. Are these reserves or theme parks? Are they really stable and unchanging? What moment is decisive for these places?