Jongens met opgestroopte broekspijpen bij een drooggevallen vissersschip op het strand bij Scheveningen 1904

This photograph by James Higson captures boys with rolled-up trouser legs by a beached fishing boat at Scheveningen. Look at the way Higson plays with light. It’s almost monochromatic, everything bleached, softened. The scene is made up of so many subtle tonal shifts from light to dark that are evocative of the damp atmosphere. I find myself drawn to the details of the fishing boat. The way the wood grain is rendered, the various ropes and rigging, and the textures of the sails and hulls. It's all so precisely observed, yet the overall effect is soft and dreamy. Look closely at the reflection of the boat in the water, how it shimmers and dissolves. Higson's work reminds me a little of the painter Whistler in its muted tones, attention to atmosphere, and exploration of a very particular landscape. But I also think of contemporary photographers like Rineke Dijkstra, who captures the awkward vulnerability of youth on beaches. Art is like a conversation across time, a dialogue of seeing and feeling.