War: Germany. Berlin. Prussian Guard Regiment: Life in a Regiment of the Prussian Guard: A soldier of the Prussian guard. c. 1903

Editor: Here we have Waldemar Titzenthaler's photograph, "War: Germany. Berlin. Prussian Guard Regiment: Life in a Regiment of the Prussian Guard: A soldier of the Prussian guard." It's striking how the soldier's uniform seems almost mass-produced, yet there's a certain handmade quality to the image itself. What strikes you about this photograph? Curator: I'm drawn to the materiality of the image itself – the photographic process, the paper, the likely darkroom labor involved. Consider the social context: what kind of worker produced the components of his uniform, his rifle, and even the photograph itself? Editor: That's a perspective I hadn't considered. It shifts the focus from the individual soldier to the broader system of production. Curator: Exactly. We see the soldier, yes, but also the cogs in the machine of war, both human and material. It makes you question the very idea of heroism. Editor: It definitely gives me a new way to think about war photography. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure!