Rapid fire! Having found the range, our guns-one is seen in recoil-make it hot for the Bosche 1914 - 1918

This vintage stereoscopic card, made by Realistic Travels, shows artillery in action – a snapshot of a process as much as a depiction of place. The monochrome tones give it an immediacy, a sense of being right there in the thick of it. What strikes me is the texture, or the implied texture. The rough-hewn wooden wheels of the gun carriage, the coarse weave of the sandbags, the scraggly foliage overhead – all rendered in shades of grey, yet still palpable. Look at the way the light catches the edges of the sandbags, defining their forms with stark contrast. It’s almost tactile. The grainy quality of the print lends an additional layer of grittiness, heightening the sense of realism. This card reminds me a little of Gerhard Richter’s blurred photo-paintings, not in appearance, obviously, but in its ability to evoke a mood, a feeling, more than a literal representation. The art of photography, like painting, is always an interpretation, a conversation. It’s not about fixed meanings, but the ongoing process of seeing and feeling.