Twee foto's van schaatsers op de Boerenwetering, Amsterdam 1923 - 1924

Hendrik Herman van den Berg captured these two photographs of skaters on the Boerenwetering in Amsterdam sometime in the winter of 1923 or 1924. The monochromatic palette gives it this great sense of history, doesn't it? A snapshot of a specific time, but also kind of timeless because of that limited range of tones. Look at the top photo: it's all open space, ice stretching out with these little figures in the distance, like they're floating. The bottom photo is so different, all these huddled figures on benches, their dark clothes sharp against the ice. It's not just about documenting what's there, it's about how van den Berg sets up these contrasting views, one empty, one full. It reminds me of Atget, you know, how he photographed Paris like a stage set, always empty but full of stories. It's like van den Berg is doing the same thing here, setting up these quiet scenes that make you wonder what happened before and what will happen next.