Although Swan was a professional photographer for the U.S. Forest Service, this collection primarily represents his non-professional interests in outdoor recreation and travel and does not contain many official Forest Service images. Swan captured many images of Montana, in the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s. Missoula subjects include the Swan home in the Rattlesnake Valley, a number of downtown scenes, Greenough Park, the Montana Mountaineers climbing club, and the surrounding mountains. Montana scenes include Glacier National Park (with detailed studies of wildflowers and wildlife taken circa 1950s); Big Hole National Battlefield; Seeley Lake; St. Ignatius and the Mission Mountains; the Custer National Forest. The collection also includes images from other states in the region, including South Dakota, North Dakota, Washington State (Yakama Indians in the Columbia National Forest), Oregon (dam construction and Native American fishing on the Columbia River), Yellowstone National Park, and the Oregon Trail and the Grand Tetons in Wyoming.

The collection's largest portion was that produced on trips outside of the Northwest and later used to illustrate his slide lectures. There are hundreds of images of the Southwest, all taken in southern Utah and northern Arizona. Specific subjects include Monument Valley; Zion Canyon; cliff dwellings; the Four Corners region; Arches National Monument, the Grand Canyon, and Bryce Canyon. The images include people and many detailed studies of desert vegetation and animals. Within that group are numerous images taken of Hopi and Navajo on the Navajo Reservation in the 1930s. There are many images of California flora and fauna. New England scenes include ocean, lighthouses, fall colors, graveyards, and coastlines, as well as locations important to Revolutionary War history. Another set of slides shows scenes from the Swan's Florida vacation. There are also a set of images taken in the Canadian Rockies.