Ellen Koeniger, Lake George 1916

Alfred Stieglitz made this photograph called, "Ellen Koeniger, Lake George" with a camera and photographic paper. Here, a figure is captured mid-action, playing in the lake; her face tilted towards the sky. I imagine Stieglitz, in that moment, was attempting to capture something that evaded painting - the reflection of light on water, the fleeting expression of joy on a human face. It's as if he sought to freeze time. There's a performative aspect to photography, a collaboration between the photographer and the subject. I wonder what Stieglitz said to Ellen to get that expression? I am always looking at what other artists do and it makes me consider what I do. Does art have to reflect life or does life reflect art? Artists build on each other and I feel that Stieglitz was attempting to see something new. Photography, like painting, is an interpretation of reality, shaped by the artist’s vision.