Opvarenden op het het dek van de Hohenzollern 1889

This sepia photograph, titled "Opvarenden op het het dek van de Hohenzollern," was taken by Paul Güssfeldt. The image captures passengers relaxing on the deck of the Hohenzollern, likely using the then newly emerging collodion process, a technique that democratized photography. The albumen print would have been created by coating paper with a layer of egg white and then exposing it to light through a negative. Consider the social context: the Hohenzollern was a German imperial yacht. The very act of leisurely photography aboard such a vessel speaks to the burgeoning culture of tourism and leisure among the upper classes. The photograph itself, a relatively accessible medium, also hints at the gradual merging of artistic practice with commercial enterprise. Paying attention to materials, processes, and the cultural context in which it was made expands our understanding of the photograph and its meaning, challenging the traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.