Untitled (photographer and cameras setting up pose with bride and groom) c. 1940

This untitled photograph captures a photographer in the act of staging a wedding portrait, with the bride and groom posed just so. Imagine Paul Gittings, the photographer, in this moment. He’s not just snapping a picture; he’s constructing a memory, arranging reality into an ideal. The camera, a large format, becomes almost another character, its bellows and tripod a stark, geometrical presence. The lighting, too, plays its part, artificial yet aimed at capturing something real. The whole scene feels staged, of course, but in that staging, there’s a pursuit of authenticity, a desire to freeze a moment of love and commitment. The image resonates with so many photographs of the time, all striving to capture and preserve. It’s a reminder that even in artifice, there’s a search for truth, a reaching towards something lasting.