Gezicht op een plein in Bloemfontein met een mensenmassa en paarden op de voorgrond 1901

This sepia toned photograph shows a crowd with horses in Bloemfontein. I imagine the photographer setting up their equipment and capturing the moment, shifting and adjusting to get the right composition. It must have been so interesting to observe this scene. Maybe the photographer felt a sense of curiosity about the people gathered, the horses, and the architecture. This curiosity led them to make a picture. What might they have been thinking? What was their intention? Photography is like painting. It’s a material process. The surface of the paper, the quality of the light. It all shapes our experience. Look at the posture of the horses, they seem almost as interested as the crowd, waiting patiently. It reminds me of the work of other photographers documenting everyday life. Artists are in an ongoing conversation, inspiring one another’s creativity. This photograph offers a glimpse into a specific time and place, inviting multiple interpretations, an ongoing dialogue between the photographer and the viewer.