The Landing Place c. 20th century

This photograph, The Landing Place, was made by Karl Struss, and well, just look at that stillness. I can almost smell the humid air and hear the gentle lapping of the water. It reminds me of some paintings, where the real subject isn't what's depicted, but the feeling it evokes. I bet Struss, hiding under that dark cloth, was trying to distill a moment, a mood, using light and shadow like paint. The way the light catches the wall – it's like a stage set, isn't it? The boat in the distance, those figures barely visible under the trees... I wonder what they're talking about. I wonder where they’ve come from. Or, more precisely, I wonder where they're going? Maybe Struss was thinking about all that too. Each element is carefully placed, inviting us to step into his world, into his mind.