Sleepboot 'Sunda' van de Tanjong Pagar Dock Co. Ltd. in Singapore before 1905

This photograph of the Sleepboot 'Sunda' in Singapore, by G.R. Lambert & Co., is like a ghost from a sepia dream. Look at the stillness, the calm water reflecting the tugboat, it’s like a mirror reflecting a bygone era. I can imagine the photographer setting up their equipment, the light just right to capture the scene. Did they feel the weight of history, framing this worker of the sea? The texture of the photograph itself, the way it’s aged, adds to the sense of time passing, almost like a painting where the layers of paint tell a story. It's the monochrome tones that pull me in, muting the colors of the scene. How do you create mood without full colour? It makes you think about all the things that are not present in the image and, crucially, all the things that can't be seen. It reminds us that every picture is a conversation with the past, a dialogue with other artists and their visions.