Drie jongens op het strand van Scheveningen 1904

James Higson made this photograph, 'Three Boys on the Beach at Scheveningen', sometime between 1862 and 1933. The scene is so still and soft, the boys arranged on the beach as though they were objects in a composition, each a similar shade of sepia. I imagine Higson, alone with his camera, a sense of peaceful concentration, observing the way the light reflected off the wet sand, the gentle meeting of sea and sky. There's such a sense of quiet in the photograph, an open space between the figures that holds a delicate tension. Higson must have been considering questions of form and balance, like the weight and placement of objects within a frame. It's like a painting in its attention to light and atmosphere. It reminds me of other painters who explored similar themes of isolation and contemplation, like Whistler or even Hopper. All these artists are talking to each other, you know? The image is quiet and thoughtful, but it really asks you to slow down and look.