Smallmouth Beach 1860 - 1894

Editor: Here we have Francis Bedford's "Smallmouth Beach," likely taken sometime between 1860 and 1894. It’s a gelatin silver print, and the tones are really striking, almost like a hazy memory. It has a tranquil and isolated mood to me, despite the figures on the beach. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Ah, Bedford. This image whispers of a time when photography was as much art as science, doesn't it? Look at how he’s framed the scene, the almost theatrical framing. The landscape and people seem carefully positioned. What does it evoke in you, this carefully staged tableau? A sense of drama perhaps? For me, I see him trying to invite us into his view of British Romanticism. Editor: It's certainly peaceful but dramatic. It looks very staged when thinking about modern-day pictures, everyone poses perfectly. The silver tones bring a layer of timelessness as well. How did he achieve this look with photography during this period? Curator: The silver gelatin process, in its own way, allows for a soft, dreamlike quality that aligns so beautifully with Romanticism. Bedford masterfully manipulated the process, the lighting, and the composition to give the mundane a veneer of the sublime. The detail in the rocks versus the soft sea mist... it’s about mood, about suggestion, wouldn’t you say? I wonder what the figures would be thinking, stood frozen like that on a summer's afternoon? Editor: Definitely, this soft quality heightens that feeling of timelessness, of being lost in an old memory, or an illustration in an old novel. I’ll be sure to look at older works with new eyes to better appreciate the artist’s approach to Romanticism and staged imagery. Curator: Absolutely! Looking closer helps me realize how photographs are really just curated stories frozen in silver, or, in today’s world, captured in light. There's always a story behind a picture.