Aanzicht Nederlands Hervormde Kerk in De Rijp, Noord-Holland 1921

Leonard Vlaanderen made this photograph, Aanzicht Nederlands Hervormde Kerk in De Rijp, Noord-Holland, without a known date. It's a church—of course it is!—rendered in light brown hues that feel almost sepia-toned. I imagine him there, squinting, adjusting the lens, trying to capture the way the light bounces off the stone. It’s all about the surface, isn’t it? The texture, the tiny imperfections that make it real. I can almost feel the weight of the camera in his hands, the anticipation of waiting for the image to appear. Photography is all about surfaces, light, and dark, just like painting. And I wonder if Leonard felt that same pull, that urge to make something that wasn't just a record, but a story, too? Maybe he was thinking about the painters, all those artists before him who wrestled with light and shadow. We’re all just borrowing from each other, remixing the old songs, trying to make them new again. And that’s the beauty of it, this endless conversation across time.