Uitzicht vanuit de villa van de familie Wachenheimer (Herthastrase 19) over een grasveld, 1928, Neurenberg 1928

This is a black and white photograph taken in 1928 in Nuremberg by the Wachenheimer family, showing a view from their villa. I wonder, what was it like to make a photograph back then? You’d have to be so precise with your focus, composition and lighting, not to mention developing the image itself. There’s this sense of quiet, still observation in the work, everything is in its place. I imagine the photographer setting up the camera, carefully framing the view, and waiting for the right moment to capture the scene. What were they thinking as they pressed the shutter release, what stories did they tell themselves? Did they know what the future would bring? It has an amazing sense of depth, the way the lawn recedes into the distance towards the buildings on the horizon, creating a contrast between the open space and the structures beyond. Photography really opened up a new way of seeing, a different way to think about what a picture could be, something artists still wrestle with today. What does it mean to make a picture? How do we see and record the world around us? It's like artists are in constant conversation through time.