Equivalent c. 1927

This photograph, "Equivalent," by Alfred Stieglitz captures a fleeting moment of sky and leaves. Look at that mass of dark leaves, caught in the frame, and the dynamic dance of light and shadow. I wonder, what was Stieglitz feeling as he framed this shot? Was he trying to capture a mood, a feeling, or something more abstract? I bet it was a feeling. I can almost feel him searching for a visual language to express what words couldn't. Maybe the darks represent something that was going on in his life at the time. It reminds me of the work of Georgia O'Keeffe, whom he later married. Both were deeply interested in the relationship between the internal emotional landscape and the external world. It’s like they are whispering secrets across time, inspiring each other's gaze. Artists are always looking at each other, responding to each other's work. I feel that! And this image is such a beautiful meditation on equivalence, how one thing can stand for another.