Iffley Mill from below before 1912

Henry Taunt made this photograph, Iffley Mill from below, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century, and you can imagine him there, looking up through the trees. It’s like a quick sketch, all about capturing a mood. I wonder what it was like for Taunt, lugging his equipment around, trying to frame the perfect shot? Did he labor over the composition or did he just point and shoot? I mean, look at the contrast between the solid trees and the bright sky. The texture almost looks like a drawing. It reminds me of the work of Peter Henry Emerson, another photographer who was interested in capturing the English countryside. They're both part of this ongoing conversation about how we see and represent nature. It’s a reminder that art is always a dialogue, artists building on each other’s ideas, inspiring new ways of seeing.