Gezicht op het Libanon gebergte bij Broumana, Syrië

This photograph of the Lebanon mountains near Broumana, Syria, was taken by A.G.A. van Eelde. The tones in this black and white print feel carefully calibrated, don't they? There's a softness here, a kind of tonal range that’s hard to pin down. It's a balance between the clarity of the buildings dotted across the hilltop and the dense foliage in the foreground, which gives a great sense of depth. The contrast in tones creates a really beautiful effect. Look at the path winding up the hill. It’s almost like a visual pathway, inviting you into the scene, into the experience of being there. It's a bit like the photographs of Eugène Atget in its subject and tonality, and that feeling of a specific time and place being captured. Anyway, I could look at this photograph for hours, and still find something new each time.