Nest van de zilvermeeuw met eieren before 1913

Richard Tepe made this photograph of a seagull's nest, whereabouts unknown, sometime in his life. It's all soft focus and understated, mostly pale sepias that feel almost incidental. The process of photography here is not about sharpness but about atmosphere. Look closely and you'll see the nest tucked deep in the grass, with two eggs nestled inside. The light catches the blades of grass, turning them into shimmering lines, like a drawing. It’s as if Tepe is not just showing us a nest, but the feeling of finding it, the quiet thrill of discovery in a muted palette. There’s a lot of photographers like him in the Pictorialist movement, people like Edward Steichen, who use photography to create a soft dreamy mood more than a realistic image. With Tepe, you get a sense of the natural world observed with a sensitive, almost painterly eye.