Twee mensen, waaronder Ella Uhlenbeck, met een hond in de besneeuwde tuin van een woonhuis aan de Bothalaan in Hilversum 1912

Carolina (Loentje) Frederika Onnen captured these two figures, one of whom is Ella Uhlenbeck, and a dog in the snow in her garden in this snapshot. The black and white tones make me think about the quietness of the scene and wonder how it might feel to be there. I imagine Carolina outside with her camera, playing with depth of field and exposure. I am sure she's thinking about light and shadow and about capturing a likeness, but also about the feeling of the moment. Maybe she didn’t see herself as an artist but, in this very simple image, I feel her desire to communicate something she saw and felt. The flatness of the photograph reminds me of a painting's surface, and how a painter manipulates depth and perspective to create a world on canvas. It's like Carolina is in a conversation with painters, using her camera to explore similar ideas about representation and perception.