Little House, Lake George c. 1933

Alfred Stieglitz snapped "Little House, Lake George" with his camera, freezing a moment that feels both simple and loaded with feeling. Look at how Stieglitz plays with light and shadow here. The tones feel almost tactile, like you could reach out and feel the rough texture of the wood, the sharpness of the light on the roof, and the soft, airy quality of the grass. It’s all in shades of gray, but it doesn’t feel muted. Instead, it's like he's zeroing in on the bare bones of seeing. My eye keeps returning to the top of that house, with the pointy weather vane like a witch's hat. Stieglitz was all about the nitty-gritty of photography, pushing the medium to be seen as more than just a copy machine. Think of the German photographer, August Sander. Both searched for the extraordinary in the ordinary, turning everyday life into something worth really looking at. Art's not about answers, it's about keeping the conversation going.