Portret van Stanley Udale 1898 - 1915

This portrait of Stanley Udale by Frederick H. Evans is a silver or platinum print. The way light softens and rounds the edges of the form suggests the meticulous, patient work in the darkroom. It is a quiet piece. I think about the time it must have taken to coax these tones from the chemicals. Photography at this point was not the instantaneous click we know today, right? Like the slow accumulation of layers in painting, these photographs were built in the patient and skillful development of the print. There's such a great sense of observation in the highlights and shadows that carve Stanley Udale’s form from the darkness. It reminds me of Holbein or some other renaissance portrait, but done with light instead of paint. Painters and photographers keep the conversation going, inspiring new ways to see.