Landschap in Groot-Brittannië before 1905

This landscape photograph was made in Great Britain by Alfred Horsley Hinton sometime between 1863 and 1908, and it has a hazy atmosphere that feels so painterly. There is a tonal softness in the gradations of light, especially in the rendering of the sky and clouds, and this makes me think about the materiality of photography itself. I look at this image and think about how Hinton was working with light, time, and chemistry to produce a kind of atmosphere. The tones feel so hand-worked, like a mezzotint, and the surface quality has a richness that has little to do with ‘capturing’ a scene and more to do with its creation. Look at the light reflecting off the water: this area is rendered with such sensitivity to the fall of light that it comes close to impressionism. Hinton’s image reminds me of a Turner painting. Both artists seem interested in the effects of light and atmosphere rather than the specific details of a landscape. This photograph, like many artworks, invites us to see the world through a particular lens.