Ida O'Keeffe 1924

Alfred Stieglitz made this photographic portrait of Ida O’Keeffe, seemingly without a fixed date, using a camera and darkroom alchemy. It’s a study in grey scales, capturing a birthday moment, radiating outwards from the cake’s bright candles. Stieglitz must have loved working in monochrome, stripping away the colour to find the light and form. It's like he’s painting with shadows, coaxing the tones into being. Look at the way the light defines her face, how the soft focus gives her a quiet dignity. Then notice the detail on the candles and cake, it’s like a party on a table. This reminds me of some of Gerhard Richter's blurred photographs, both playing with focus and clarity to evoke a mood. I love the ambiguity, the way it invites us to bring our own feelings to the image. It's more than just a photograph, it's a feeling, a moment suspended in time.