Isabel Wachenheimer in lange jas met Leo Blumensohn met gleufhoed op straat in Amsterdam, mei 1947 1947

This photo of Isabel Wachenheimer and Leo Blumensohn in Amsterdam, was taken in May 1947 by an anonymous artist. I'm imagining the photographer here, holding the camera up to their face, framing the image. The image is a small rectangle, like so many images are – a moment captured and frozen in time. Isabel and Leo are standing outside, wearing long coats, maybe it was cold that day? Look at the way Isabel's coat is belted tight at the waist, and the way Leo is wearing his hat tilted ever so slightly to the side. I can imagine the photographer encouraging them to stand close together, maybe they were a couple? Think about what it must have been like to take photographs then. The concentration, the slow, deliberate process. The photographer's hand steady as they press the shutter. I think about my own practice, how my paintings are just a way of seeing, a way of connecting with the world. The photographer here is doing the same. Each image is an experiment.