Jungfraubahn, station Eigergletscher, de berg Eiger op de achtergrond, Berner Alpen, Zwitserland after 1912

This vintage photograph of the Jungfraubahn station, Eigergletscher, captures the formidable Eiger mountain in the Swiss Alps. It was made by the Wehrli Brothers. I can almost feel the biting cold the photographers must have experienced up there. You know, when I look at this image, I think about the sheer determination it must have taken to haul all that equipment up the mountain. The tracks of the railway cut through the landscape, a feat of engineering against the imposing backdrop of the snow-laden Alps. The figures waiting for the train seem so small against the vastness of the landscape, it’s like they’re swallowed by it. It makes you think about how our actions are both monumental and insignificant. The sharp contrast between light and shadow really brings out the harshness and the majesty of the environment. It's this interplay of human endeavor and raw nature that makes this image so compelling.