Portret van de families Kessler en Heyning tijdens een vakantie in de Harz, helemaal links Dolph Kessler c. 1903 - 1908

Geldolph Adriaan Kessler made this photograph of the Kessler and Heyning families on holiday, and it's so interesting thinking about the chemical process involved in making an image like this. The tones are so gentle, as if coaxed into being! Look at the way the light just barely illuminates each figure, holding the details in a tender, almost hesitant way. The surface has a slightly matte quality, like it's absorbing light rather than reflecting it, which gives the whole image a soft, dreamlike presence. I'm especially drawn to the children sitting on the ground. Their postures are so natural and unposed, and the way the light catches on their faces gives them a real sense of presence, despite the old-fashioned clothes. This photograph reminds me a little of the early work of Eugène Atget, who had an interest in the ordinary and vernacular. I love that the artist embraces the subtleties and ambiguities of the photographic process, and in doing so, reminds us that art is an ongoing exploration rather than a quest for definitive answers.