Cuzco, Peru 1974

Ed Grazda made this photograph in Cuzco, Peru. It’s a black and white image, mostly grayscale, except for the little, teeny bit of white cloth that is wrapped around a kind of post. I’m imagining Grazda seeing this scene with the two little figures in the background, up on the hill. Maybe he wasn’t sure about the shot, but then he saw how the light hit this central post, adorned with simple, almost makeshift, decorations. It makes me think of the quiet, unpretentious moments that can hold so much feeling. How do you capture the spirit of a place, the weight of history, in a single frame? Maybe it’s about finding the balance between what’s there and what you bring to it, that quiet conversation between the photographer and the world, a little exchange of seeing and feeling. The image makes me want to go there. The world is always inspiring artists, always.