Vogel wijfje op haar nest met jongen 1900 - 1928

Richard Tepe made this photograph of a bird on her nest with young, but we don’t know when. The image is softly blurred, like a dream. The whole scene, this moment, is rendered in tones of brown, as if the monochrome were a kind of emotional atmosphere of the photograph. Look at the mother bird perched next to the nest, alert and watchful. Tepe captures her protective energy so well. I wonder what it was like for him taking this photo, trying to capture this family scene. What's the technology of the camera like? How long does the photo have to be exposed? Does he have to be very still? Is he hiding? Is she aware of his presence? Probably. The leaves and branches are rendered with all their detailed texture, and the nest is a chaotic swirl of twigs and grasses, all carefully arranged and yet totally random. Tepe’s photograph reminds us that every picture is a negotiation between the artist, the subject, and the medium itself.