Broedende sternen c. 1900 - 1940

Richard Tepe made this photograph, Broedende sternen, whose English translation is brooding terns, using a photographic process. The tones are muted, almost like a memory fading at the edges. I imagine Tepe, patiently observing these birds, waiting for the perfect moment to capture their stillness amidst the tall grasses. Did he feel a kinship with these creatures, a shared sense of quiet contemplation? I wonder if he noticed the contrasts between light and shadow, or the delicate textures of the birds' feathers against the wild grasses. Maybe he saw something more – a metaphor for his own life, his own creative process, a nest of ideas waiting to hatch. Artists are always in conversation with each other, across time and space, riffing off each other's ideas, finding new ways to express themselves. Like the birds carefully guarding their eggs, artists nurture their ideas, allowing them to develop and emerge in their own time.