Mensen op de Donaustrasse in Ingolstadt, op de achtergrond de Donautor 1900

This photograph, "Mensen op de Donaustrasse in Ingolstadt, op de achtergrond de Donautor," was captured by Delizy. Photography, though now ubiquitous, was once a novel technology, demanding specialized knowledge and equipment. This particular print, small and sepia-toned, speaks to photography’s earlier role as a meticulous process. The gelatin silver print process would have involved coating paper with light-sensitive materials, exposing it to light through a negative, and then carefully developing and fixing the image. The material qualities—the slight blur, the limited tonal range, and the warm hue—are all intrinsic to the technologies of the time. The relative difficulty in the image capturing process, meant photographers had to consider composition and framing to ensure each photograph was a good representation of its subject. This approach to capturing images, in contrast to our current, more casual practices, meant that photography was seen as a skilled practice, more in line with other forms of art-making. It’s a reminder that every image, no matter how seemingly straightforward, is the result of deliberate choices and technical expertise.