Gezicht op een tombe bij Shah-e-Alam's Roza in Ahmedabad before 1866

This photograph of a tomb near Ahmedabad was created by Thomas Biggs, using a process that was then at the cutting edge: the combination of a portable camera, a glass plate negative, and chemical developing processes. While photography is now seen as an artistic medium, it's worth remembering its origins in the industrial revolution, the mass production of images, and the colonial project. This image, with its sepia tones, is in a way a document of those forces, and the labor that went into expanding this technology. Note the way the developing process gives a distinctive look to the image: the slight blurring, the wide tonal range, and the way the light seems almost to emanate from within the print. The photograph's surface bears witness to the skill required to coax an image into being, as well as its inherent ability to capture a moment in time. It serves not just as a depiction, but also as a cultural artifact in its own right.