Zuidzijde van de Hervormde Kerk te Nisse 1901

This photograph captures the south side of the Reformed Church in Nisse. I wonder about the photographer, one of the unsung heros of Monumentenzorg, a cultural heritage organisation. They must have walked around, considering the light, the angle. Maybe they thought about the way the gothic architecture, the sharp angles of the roof and soaring windows, cut into the sky. I bet they carefully framed the iron fence and scraggly bushes, creating a soft of threshold between the church and the world. It feels like a moment of quiet contemplation, a pause to appreciate the simple beauty of a place. And now, all these years later, we are still looking. What were they thinking when they made it? How did they manage to convey so much with so little? I'm sure they would have had a lot to teach me about seeing.