Richard 1912

This is a photograph titled 'Richard' by Morton Schamberg. The photographic surface is soft and moody, swathed in dark blues and greys, like a memory trying to surface. I imagine Schamberg in his studio, carefully adjusting the light, trying to capture something essential about this young person, Richard. What was Richard thinking at that moment? Was he nervous, excited, or simply bored? Did Schamberg want to get at something deeper than just the surface of his sitter? The way the light catches on Richard’s face, highlighting his eyes, gives him an almost ethereal quality. There is a vulnerability there. Photographers, like painters, are always chasing after something elusive—the perfect light, the perfect expression, the perfect moment. Schamberg captures not just an image of Richard, but a mood, a feeling, a fleeting moment in time. It reminds me that we’re all connected through this shared act of seeing and making, constantly borrowing, riffing, and reinventing what it means to create.