Equivalent, from Set A (Third Set, Print 4) 1929

This photograph of clouds was made by Alfred Stieglitz at an unknown date. The tonal range of the image is mesmerizing. Stieglitz coaxes so much variation from a black and white image, transforming the photo into something truly sublime. Look at how the light interacts with the forms, and how it’s captured by the gelatin silver printing process. The clouds aren’t just clouds, but fields of textured brushstrokes, like layers of paint applied and reapplied to the surface of a canvas. In the upper right corner, there’s a small circle of diffused light, and to me, it evokes the feeling of looking up at the sky and getting lost in its immensity. The placement of the clouds and the depth of space create a landscape within a landscape. Stieglitz's exploration of clouds reminds me a little of Gerhard Richter’s series of cloud paintings, made much later. Both artists use these images to explore painting and photography’s capacity to convey ephemeral qualities and experiences. Art’s a conversation, isn’t it?