Huizen in besneeuwd landschap van Sereda 1903 - 1904

Joseph Cheetham made this photograph, "Huizen in besneeuwd landschap van Sereda", location and date unknown, which translates to “Houses in snowy landscape of Sereda”. The limited monochromatic palette is almost entirely without contrast; the scene rendered in subtle shades of gray. This makes the photograph feel very immediate and raw. You can really feel the chill of the landscape here. The surface texture is smooth; we can feel the granular nature of the film and the photographic paper. Our eyes are immediately drawn to the dense copse of bare trees that dominate the horizon line. Note the contrast between their rough bark and the smooth, featureless, snow-covered fields in front of them. I am reminded of an early Gerhard Richter landscape, or maybe even some of Hiroshi Sugimoto's seascapes. It is a quiet piece, full of stillness and anticipation.