Drie Chinese schepen in een dok van de Tanjong Pagar Dock Co. Ltd. in Singapore before 1905

This monochrome photograph shows three Chinese ships in a dock in Singapore, taken by G.R. Lambert & Co., though we don't know exactly when. What I notice first is how these ships seem to huddle together like they are seeking shelter, like there's a storm coming. I think of the artist, the photographer in this case, seeking the right angle, the right light, to capture this moment. He is finding a still point amongst the coming and going of the ships. There's a real sense of labor and industry, with the workers busying themselves around the dry dock. The details of the ships themselves are incredible, the rigging like a complex web against the sky. It reminds me of Hokusai's prints, that same sense of human activity dwarfed by the power and scale of nature and industry. It's about being present and really looking.