Vrouw met blad met kopjes 1940s

This small photograph at the Rijksmuseum titled 'Woman with tray of cups' was made by an anonymous artist using black and white film. There's a woman in an apron, paused in a doorway carrying a tray of cups, and I wonder what she was thinking? It is a portrait of everyday life, and you can see how the artist was interested in the composition and the way the light falls on her face, on her apron, the darks and lights. I imagine the photographer thinking about all sorts of things: how to get the right exposure, how to capture the scene, how to make an interesting image that really grabs you. It's all a matter of decisions made in the moment, an intuitive and imaginative dance between the artist and the subject. What emerges reflects our human experience, and reminds us that art, like life, is an ongoing conversation.