Een reede in Indonesië met aangemeerde schepen. 1900 - 1915

It's hard to know when exactly Johanna Hermina Marmelstein made this evocative scene of boats moored at the port in Indonesia, but I can imagine her setting up her camera there, waiting for the right light. Look at the way she's captured the bustle of the scene. You can almost hear the workers shouting as they unload the ships. It reminds me a little of those early Impressionist paintings, capturing fleeting moments in time, except here, instead of a quick sketch, we have a photograph. The mood is heavy and overcast. Everything's rendered in shades of grey, and the overall effect feels incredibly immediate. What was it like to be a woman photographer at this time? I imagine she had to have a certain amount of grit. I admire how this artist seems to disappear, and what remains is the scene itself and the historical moment captured in time.