Piste Possibly 1934

This little photograph, "Piste," by familie Wachenheimer, captures a snow-covered scene, probably printed on fiber paper and mounted on card. The tonal range is limited to shades of grey with the darker tones holding much of the image detail. I love how the image almost disappears into a field of white, and the detail comes from delicate modulations of light and shadow. Look how the soft focus blurs the edges, creating a dreamlike atmosphere, almost as though we are looking back through the fog of memory. My eye is drawn to the figures skiing on the piste, captured in grainy silhouette against the bright snow. They are at once solitary and part of a larger landscape. The image shows us the making of this track through the snow, where the blank canvas becomes a field of play. This image reminds me of the early photographs of Alfred Stieglitz with its interest in light and atmosphere. But the vernacular, almost naive approach, gives this image a very distinctive, human quality, showing us how even the simplest of images can evoke complex emotions.