Mannen bij een boothuis in Rusland 1903 - 1904

This photograph captures a boat house in Russia by Joseph Cheetham. It’s so small, but it speaks volumes about the intimacy of small gestures. I wonder what Cheetham was thinking when he took the picture. Did he know the people? Was it staged or spontaneous? To me, the quiet stillness of the water mirrors the careful stillness of the image, as though he was trying to hold onto this moment for a little longer. Photographs are a funny thing – they can be about memory and perception at the same time, allowing us to freeze time and hold onto fleeting moments. Cheetham isn't particularly known, but in a way, he is in conversation with better known photographers and artists. It makes you think about what it would have been like to be there, to experience that moment with him. A small snapshot into another life.