Boot bij een palmenkust in Nederlands-Indië 1912

Onnes Kurkdjian made this photograph, "Boot bij een palmenkust in Nederlands-Indië", which translates to "Boat by a palm coast in the Dutch East Indies" sometime between 1870 and 1900. It’s a scene filled with so much light. I can almost feel the air! I can imagine Kurkdjian taking the picture. How long did he have to stand there waiting for the scene to be just right? What do we make of this scene? The way the palms lean into the open space. I feel the push and pull of the landscape. There's something comforting about the boat with people in it. You know? Like life continues in this space of trees and river. It makes me think about the relationship between near and far, presence and absence, solid and void. It's a beautiful, simple photograph.