Swami Nikhilananda 1937

This is a photograph of Swami Nikhilananda, captured by Alfred Stieglitz sometime in the early to mid-20th century. It's an intimate study of hands, carefully composed and rendered in shades of gray. I wonder what it was like for Stieglitz to take this photo, what it was like to wait for the right moment, the right light? There’s a stillness in the image, a quiet observation of form and texture, the fabric of the Swami’s clothing in contrast to the dark skin of his hands. The way the fingers are interlaced seems intentional, like a sculpture almost, all planes and shapes, and yet so intimate, so human, so imperfect. I think this piece is also about what is *not* being shown; the power of photography lies in what it chooses to leave out. What does it mean to focus on only a portion of the body? Does it make it more intimate, or more abstract? In some ways, the fragment feels more complete.