Gezicht op de middeleeuwse brug van Auray 1901

This photograph of the medieval bridge of Auray was made by Delizy, though the date is unknown. It's small, only 70 by 82mm, which makes it feel really intimate, like a secret glimpse into another time. The sepia tone gives it a dreamy quality, doesn't it? It’s as if the image is emerging from a pool of coffee. Look at the water rushing under the arches of the bridge. The textures are incredible, almost like thick impasto paint, even though it's a photograph. It makes me think about how we perceive the world, how we turn something as fleeting as rushing water into a solid, captured moment. There’s a stillness to the photograph, but within it, there’s so much implied movement. Photography to me, much like painting, is about capturing a moment. It’s about stopping time, which of course, is impossible, but we try anyway.