Landschappen met schapen in Engeland before 1891

J.L. Williams made these photographs, titled "Landschappen met schapen in Engeland", or "Landscapes with Sheep in England". Look closely and you’ll see how the materiality of early photography profoundly shapes what we see. It is the result of a chemical reaction, of course, not unlike the preparation of dyes for textiles or glazes for ceramics. Light is captured on paper, permanently fixing a moment in time. Note the limited tonal range; the process at this stage could not capture a full spectrum of values. This limitation also gave early photography its distinctive aesthetic quality, turning landscapes into almost dreamlike, spectral visions. Consider too that this image is itself part of a book, a mass-produced artifact. It is a multiple, intended for wide circulation. The act of viewing is therefore inextricably tied to the means of production and consumption. It challenges any notion of a photograph as simply a direct reflection of reality. It is so much more.