Spoorlijn met op de achtergrond Mount Sir Donald, Canada 1924 - 1926

This stereoscopic image, showing a railway with Mount Sir Donald in the background, was captured by J. Dearden Holmes. The sepia tones create a dreamlike atmosphere, lending a timeless quality to the scene. I like to think of this image as a kind of painting made with light and time. The texture is smooth, almost velvety, obscuring any trace of the artist’s hand. Notice how the photograph has been created as a stereo view, with two images side by side. The composition is divided, yet united by the continuous landscape. Your eye is drawn to the tracks, leading towards the majestic mountain, a visual journey into the heart of the Canadian Rockies. The train becomes like a metaphor for the eye, travelling through the image. Like all good art, this photograph invites us to contemplate the relationship between nature and technology, and the ways in which we perceive and interact with the world around us. It puts me in mind of some of the landscape works by the Hudson River School.