Arthur B. Carles 1923

This photograph of Arthur B. Carles was shot by Alfred Stieglitz sometime in the early 20th Century. It’s a warm, sepia toned print and the first thing that strikes me is the tonality, the way the light seems to glow from within. Looking closer, you see the texture - the way the light catches the fibres of his enormous beard, the soft focus around the edges. There’s something so palpable about it, almost sculptural - it's like Stieglitz is building form from light and shadow alone. Notice the subtle detail around the eyes, the gentle wrinkles that speak to Carles’s character, his intensity, his humor. Stieglitz was deeply influenced by photography’s ability to capture truth, but like a painter he manipulated the medium to express emotion, making images that resonate with feeling and convey so much about the individuals he captured. It reminds me of work by Julia Margaret Cameron, who similarly transformed the genre of portraiture through her own unique and personal approach. In art, as in life, it's the personal connection that counts.