Gezicht op een huis of hotel in de Harz c. 1903 - 1908

This photograph, "Gezicht op een huis of hotel in de Harz," of a house or hotel in Harz was captured by Geldolph Adriaan Kessler. It’s got this dreamy, almost ghostly quality, right? The building is peeking out from behind some trees, as if it’s shy. I love how the texture of the leaves contrasts with the sharp lines of the building. It’s like a dance between the natural and the man-made. There's a kind of push and pull between what's hidden and what's revealed, making you wonder about what's going on behind the scenes. The tones throughout the image are consistent and it's this that creates an atmosphere of something old, an idea, a memory, or a fairytale that may have been told. The way Kessler framed the shot reminds me of some of the early modernist photographers who were experimenting with perspective and composition. But, ultimately, it's the moodiness and ambiguity of this photograph that I find most compelling, its beauty is in the moment.