Equivalent 1930

Alfred Stieglitz made this photograph, "Equivalent," using a camera and film, but it's more than just a document. It's a mood, a feeling, an idea caught in shades of gray. Look at those clouds—they're not just floating; they’re swirling, almost roiling, with a life of their own. You can almost imagine Stieglitz, head tilted back, trying to capture not just the shapes, but the sensation of looking up at that vastness. There's a real kinship, I think, between this and the work of someone like Gerhard Richter, who also explores abstraction through the lens of photography. It’s like he's saying, "I want to show you what it feels like to be me, looking at this." And the bare trees reaching up into the sky? They're like little scribbles, grounding the whole scene but also adding to the sense of drama. Stieglitz isn't just recording; he's interpreting, feeling, and making something new. It reminds you that artists are constantly building on what came before, sparking new ways of seeing.