Equivalent, Set C2 No. 5 1929

Alfred Stieglitz made this photograph, Equivalent, Set C2 No. 5, with a camera, at some point in his life. It’s easy to forget that photographs are made; the mechanical process can appear so seamless. But look at how these clouds are rendered, how the light burns through the dark. It’s all about tone, of course, but also the texture; the photograph feels less like a window and more like an object in itself. There's a central patch of light that’s so overexposed it almost becomes pure white, while the darker areas are dense and velvety. This contrast isn’t just visual; it’s emotional. The way the tones shift feels almost painterly. You could say these photographs are a bit like the abstract expressionists, especially someone like Mark Rothko. Both artists were interested in exploring inner states, emotional experiences. Stieglitz did it with clouds, Rothko did it with color, but both understood that art is about more than just what you see, it's about how you feel.