Droga (Road) 1916

Jan Bulhak created this photograph, 'Droga', with light and shadow, capturing a moment on the road. It's as if the camera is a brush, layering tones like strokes of paint. I imagine Bulhak, out there, finding this scene. What was it like to stand there? The road stretches out, those tracks suggesting someone has been here before, and someone is still coming and going. It reminds me of the landscapes in early photography and painting. There's a conversation happening across time and place – a kind of exchange between artists using different materials and approaches to capture the feeling of a place. Photography, like painting, is about seeing. It's about noticing the way light hits a surface, the way a line can lead your eye, the way a scene can evoke a feeling. We bring ourselves to seeing, and we see something new.