Rots met bas-reliëfs en ingangen naar grafkelders te Naks-i-Rustam, Perzië Possibly 1925

A.G.A. van Eelde made this photograph, "Rots met bas-reliëfs en ingangen naar grafkelders te Naks-i-Rustam, Perzië", with what looks like light and shadow alone! I can imagine him looking at these cliffs in Persia. What was it like to stand there and see these tombs, cut right into the stone? The way he frames the shot, it’s all about texture. You can almost feel the rough rock. The light catches every little groove. And then, those bas-reliefs—details that tell stories. I wonder what Van Eelde was thinking? Was he trying to capture a sense of history, or just the pure, simple beauty of the place? What is it like to cut something out, rather than add it in? I think photography and painting are similar in some ways. They can both freeze a moment in time, but they also change it. Each artist learns from those who came before and after. This photo is one step in that beautiful, ongoing dance.