Gezicht op drie kinderen bij een sloot before 1902

This black and white photograph by L. Chastellain captures a moment of children by a ditch, but it feels like so much more. I can imagine the artist carefully composing the shot, adjusting the focus, waiting for the right light. The image itself is soft, almost dreamlike. The trees fade into the background, their branches like delicate brushstrokes against the sky. There’s a figure there, hunched over, maybe trying to catch something in the water. What are they thinking? What is the relationship between the figure and the children? This image reminds me a bit of early photography and how that movement explored texture, light, and form in new and exciting ways. Photography, like painting, is about seeing, interpreting, and making sense of the world around us. It involves layering and blending, and adding and subtracting until you find what you’re after. It's a conversation across time, inspiring new ways of seeing and expressing ourselves.