Gezicht op het Centraal Station in Amsterdam, op de voorgrond de Prins Hendrikkade met twee karren en marskramers 1904

This photograph of the Centraal Station in Amsterdam, with the Prins Hendrikkade in the foreground, was taken by James Higson. I love how it feels like a sepia-toned memory. The station looms large in the background, a monument to progress and connection. But Higson’s gaze is drawn to the street life in the foreground. You can almost smell the dampness of the canals and the earthy scent of the goods being traded. I can imagine him standing there, squinting through the lens, trying to capture the fleeting moment. Was he thinking about the contrast between the bustling commerce and the grand architecture behind it? The composition is so carefully arranged. The lamp post in the foreground, the workers clustered around their carts, and the station, all seem to echo each other. It reminds me how all artists are in conversation, and how the simplest image can contain so much history and emotion.