Gezicht op twee poorten te Peking before 1920

Donald Mennie made this photograph, ‘Gezicht op twee poorten te Peking,’ and it's a world of sepia tones, like a memory half-faded, half-there. The composition is striking, drawing you into the depths of the image through those layered arches. Look at how the light plays on the rough textures of the walls. You can almost feel the grit and history embedded in the stone. There’s this small figure, maybe a merchant, walking with a donkey, that adds a sense of scale. The scene feels both intimate and expansive, like a stage where daily life unfolds. It reminds me a bit of some of the early street photography, where the everyday becomes monumental through the framing and the focus on texture. The picture breathes with the dust and heat of the city, a moment captured and held still. It has a unique vision, transforming the familiar into something mysterious and deeply felt.