Untitled (Couple on beach) c. 1920s

This photograph, Untitled (Couple on beach), was made anonymously, and the image itself is quite small. The whole thing has faded to this beautiful sepia tone, like it’s been sitting in someone's attic for a hundred years, soaking up the dust and memories. Look at the texture of the print. It's got this slight graininess, especially in the sky, which gives it a tangible, almost tactile quality. You can almost feel the sand between your toes and the salty air on your skin. My eye is drawn to the dark forms of the couple, how they’re placed off-center, and the way the negative space stretches out towards the horizon. There is something quite striking in how the artist chose to emphasize the vastness of the scene, capturing a moment of quiet contemplation amidst the boundless sea and sky. This photograph reminds me of the work of Eugène Atget, who documented the streets of Paris at the turn of the century. Both artists share an eye for the everyday, finding beauty in the mundane and capturing moments that might otherwise go unnoticed.