Gezicht in het bos 1903 - 1910

Hendrik Doijer made this photo of a forrest, we don't know when, using, well, photography. It's a landscape but it feels more like a portrait. The way the light is hitting the trees makes them look like figures standing in a group. They all have their own way of being but they’re still together, a real community. I keep thinking about this one spot, where a tree has fallen over the river. It’s like a bridge, connecting two sides. It’s not just a pretty picture, but something that makes you feel like you’re part of it. Like you could walk right into the photo, cross that tree, and join the party. The way Doijer captured it, with all the subtle shades, makes it feel so alive. Reminds me of the Hudson River school, they were doing something similar. Making places feel alive. It’s really just a conversation that artists have been having for centuries, trying to capture not just what a place looks like, but what it feels like.