The Yellowstone from Pompey's Pillar c. 1906

Laton Alton Huffman made this landscape photograph, titled 'The Yellowstone from Pompey's Pillar', sometime during his life between 1854 and 1931. The muted sepia tones are gentle, almost like a memory fading into the past, and the scene is still and quiet. Looking at this photograph, I am immediately drawn to the texture of the land. The foreground feels rough and untamed, a jumble of grasses and shrubs rendered in soft focus. Huffman’s process isn’t concealed but is open. It’s the way the light falls across the scene that really captivates me. The sun seems to be setting, casting long shadows across the landscape and highlighting the subtle undulations of the land. The winding river reflects the sky, creating a sense of depth and vastness. The land feels huge, like a painting by Albert Bierstadt or Frederic Church, just much quieter. It reminds me that artmaking is about feeling your way through the dark, always circling back to the fundamental questions without the expectation of definitive answers.