Drie Chinese schepen in een dok van de Tanjong Pagar Dock Co. Ltd. in Singapore before 1905

This photograph of three Chinese ships was taken in a Singapore dock by G.R. Lambert & Co. What grabs me is the sheer detail, the almost forensic observation of the scene. Look at the rigging on those ships, a complex web of lines crisscrossing the sky. It feels almost like a drawing, each line meticulously rendered. The sepia tones give it a timeless quality, a sense of looking back into history. There’s a stark contrast between the industrial setting and the human element. Tiny figures are working on the ships, dwarfed by the massive scale of the vessels. The repetition of shapes and forms—the masts, the hulls, the ladders—creates a kind of visual rhythm. It reminds me a little of Bernd and Hilla Becher’s photographs of industrial structures, that same detached, almost clinical approach. The way they both present their subject matter is a testament to the ongoing conversation between photography and other visual arts. It's a reminder that art is always evolving, always responding to the world around it.