Equivalent 1934

Alfred Stieglitz made this photograph, titled Equivalent, using a camera and film. Look at these clouds! I can just imagine Stieglitz, craning his neck, pointing his lens to the sky, trying to capture something so fleeting. It's like he's trying to paint with light, right? The tonal range is so delicate and soft. Stieglitz coaxes a full symphony of expression out of grayscale. But what do they mean, these clouds? Well, Stieglitz believed that a photograph could represent something beyond its literal subject. He felt that these cloud formations could express his own feelings and emotions, making the external world an equivalent of his internal state. Like a painter using brushstrokes to convey emotion, Stieglitz uses the clouds to speak to something deeper. It makes me think about how all artists are always chasing after something just out of reach, trying to pin down a feeling, a thought, a moment. Stieglitz really captures the spirit of that search.