Tonnen op een kade in de Haarlemmer Houttuinen, Amsterdam 1900 - 1920

This photograph of barrels on a quay in Amsterdam was taken by Machiel Hendricus Laddé. The tones are subdued, almost like a memory fading into the past. I imagine Laddé setting up his camera, maybe feeling a kinship with those anonymous workers moving all those heavy barrels. It’s fascinating how the mundane becomes extraordinary through the artist’s eye. Laddé captures not just the scene but the physical weight of the barrels and perhaps even the rhythm of labor. The surface of the water is so still it mirrors the scene above, doubling the barrels, doubling the labor. It reminds you how one thing can become another. It’s not just a record; it’s a quiet meditation on work, time, and the changing cityscape. Like a painter layering strokes, each photograph adds to our collective understanding, inspiring new ways of seeing and making.