Stoomtrein op een tinonderneming te Belinyu c. 1900 - 1920

This photograph, *Stoomtrein op een tinonderneming te Belinyu,* was made by an anonymous artist, and it’s all about capturing a scene, a slice of life, right? The muted tones, almost monochrome, give it this timeless feel, like a memory fading at the edges. Look at the way the light catches the buildings and the steam from the train. There’s a real sense of place here. You can almost feel the humidity. The details are amazing. There's a figure standing by the train, everything is so crisp and sharp. It reminds me a bit of some of the early modernist photographs, where they were just trying to document the world around them in a new way, like Atget, but with a colonialist perspective. It’s like they’re trying to freeze a moment in time, but time keeps moving, doesn’t it? Art's just an ongoing conversation.