Equivalent 1925

Alfred Stieglitz created this photograph, Equivalent, with his camera. Imagine him, looking up, framing and clicking, and then developing these forms in the darkroom. The black and white tonalities are delicious, right? Like notes in a nocturne or a charcoal drawing, where everything emerges from tone, mass, and texture. The sky is activated by puffs and streaks of shadow and light, where dark masses seem to float and coalesce into forms. I can imagine Stieglitz looking up and thinking, "What am I really photographing?". The ‘Equivalents’ series was meant to evoke an emotional or spiritual state through the image of clouds. The image becomes a visual metaphor, or a symbol, not just of the sky but for something deeper. It reminds me how we are constantly trying to find new ways to see, think, and feel the world. And it reminds us how photographs can speak to our deepest emotions, just like painting.