Portret van Gerard Herman Broos, zes jaar oud 1908 - 1909

Here is a photo of Gerard Herman Broos, aged six, by Carel Frederik Cordes. It’s a black and white shot, a small memento of a little boy, probably taken in a studio. Imagine Cordes there, behind the camera, maybe fiddling with the lens, trying to get the kid to sit still. There's something about the formality of old photos that always gets me, it’s like everyone's trying so hard to look serious. I wonder what Gerard was thinking, standing there in his little sailor suit. Was he bored, dreaming of running off to play? Looking at this little portrait makes me think about how much photography has changed – from these careful, posed shots to everyone snapping away on their phones all the time. It's funny to think of this as part of that same story. Each photo builds on the last.