Untitled (photograph of "Blue Danube": two women in gowns kneeling by man in tuxedo) c. 1940

This black and white photograph of two women in gowns kneeling by a man in a tuxedo was created by Paul Gittings. The scene almost floats out of the ether, like a memory or a dream. I imagine Gittings in the darkroom, coaxing the image out of the chemicals, patiently waiting for the figures to emerge. You see the image slowly reveal itself; the tilt of a head, the fall of fabric, the contrast between light and dark, it all makes you wonder. What was it like to orchestrate this vision? I can almost feel the weight of their fancy dresses, the plushness of the room, the sound of music. There is something eerie and beautiful about the scene – like a ghostly apparition of a bygone era. In a way, aren’t all photographs kind of like that? Moments suspended in time, inviting us to reflect on their past and meaning.