Onbekende vrouw met twee honden, genaamd Zeppelin en Toy, in de tuin van het woonhuis aan Kroonlaan 4 in Hilversum 1913

Loentje Onnen made this photograph of an unknown woman with her two dogs, Zeppelin and Toy, in her garden in Hilversum. It’s a snapshot, really, but within it is a story about process, about waiting, about the ephemeral nature of life. I am drawn to the textures here. The light is filtered, slightly overexposed, flattening the tonal range to create a luminous and delicate scene. Look how the light interacts with the foliage; it's almost impressionistic, akin to Monet’s play with light and color in his garden paintings. And then there's the dog, Toy, a small, ghostly presence in the lower image. You can barely make out its form, yet it anchors the photograph with a sense of groundedness. Onnen's photograph is a wonderful reminder of the magic found in ordinary moments. Like Gerhard Richter, she embraces the accidental, acknowledging the beauty in a slightly imperfect image, one that is not overly posed or controlled. Ultimately, it’s the ambiguity that makes it so compelling.