Group on a Hill Road - Granada 1914

James Craig Annan made this photograph, Group on a Hill Road - Granada, using a photogravure, a process that translates a photographic image into an etched plate that can be printed like an etching. I like the way it feels like a memory, figures caught in a moment of time on a hillside, somewhere outside Granada. Annan, as the image-maker, is also present, framing the scene, choosing the light, and letting the chemistry of the photogravure do its thing. I imagine him carefully working on the plate, adjusting the tones, deciding where to let the shadows fall. He’s playing with light and shadow, capturing the essence of a fleeting moment. Look at how the figures are rendered in silhouette. It's like they're part of the landscape itself, connected to the earth. It reminds me that artists are always having this conversation across time, learning from and responding to one another's visions. This image is open and unresolved, inviting all kinds of interpretations, much like a painting.