Gezicht op een rotsheuvel met vier Britse soldaten op de voorgrond, 4 juni 1900 1901

This stereoscopic image of British soldiers on a rocky hillside was made on June 4, 1900, by an anonymous photographer. I wonder what it was like, making this image? The photographer probably had to lug heavy equipment up that hill! The tonal range is quite limited, with a narrow band of khaki and sepia. It’s a restrained palette, but somehow, this makes the image's textures pop: the roughness of the rocks, the scrubby, dry grasses, and the uniforms themselves. See how the photographer uses these elements to create depth, leading your eye up and over the brow of the hill? It’s almost like a stage set, and the soldiers are actors caught in a moment of tension. This reminds me of Muybridge, but it’s also like a painting by Manet or Degas—there’s something in the quiet drama of the composition that speaks to a certain sensibility. Artists are always in conversation with each other, and here’s a reminder that art can be found anywhere, even in the act of documenting a moment in time.