Romp voor filterpers Possibly 1937

This photograph captures a filter press, and was produced anonymously, though we know it was made on February 24th, 1937. I'm just thinking about the process of making an image back then, and I feel a connection to the anonymous photographer. What do we know of their life? The tonality is so beautiful, the grays feel velvety. I imagine the photographer adjusting the focus, experimenting with light and shadow to make the machine pop. Is the person in the image operating the machine? Perhaps they too are thinking about the work to be done. Looking at the composition, it's like the photographer and the machine are in a conversation. How do you frame something so large and complex? How do you make it understandable? They had to work together. It makes me think about what we, as artists, owe to each other. There is such a legacy of people working, trying, and thinking through the act of creation. That collective spirit is so essential to everything.