Untitled [trees and fence] c. 1900

William E. Dassonville made this photograph, titled "Untitled [trees and fence]", using gelatin silver print. In this image, Dassonville wasn't just pointing a camera; he was carefully manipulating a process. Gelatin silver printing involves coating paper with light-sensitive silver halides, exposing it to light through a negative, and then developing it chemically. The dark grays and muted tones you see are the result of this alchemical transformation. The soft focus isn’t accidental; it’s a deliberate aesthetic choice, likely achieved through lens selection and darkroom techniques. There is a clear rejection of sharp, documentary-style photography. This was a conscious decision to elevate photography to the realm of art, aligning it with the atmospheric paintings of the time. Photography, like any medium, involves choices about what to emphasize and what to leave out. The labor involved isn’t just technical; it’s also about crafting a specific vision. Dassonville reminds us that photography can be as much about interpretation as it is about documentation.