Gezicht op een waterweg, met op de voorgrond aangemeerde roeiboten before 1903

This photograph of a waterway, with boats in the foreground, was made by S. Jaffé, we’re not sure exactly when. You know, sometimes I think about how photography captures a specific moment in time, but it's also about the process of seeing and selecting. Looking at the water, there’s a gentle ripple effect. It's really subtle, but adds so much movement. The tones are limited to grayscale, which simplifies everything to form. It reminds me how much we can do with so little. Think Agnes Martin’s understated canvases, but with boats and windmills. Those little boats in the front? They almost look like smudges, right? Like the artist didn't want to be too precious about the details. And that windmill in the background is this tiny, almost ghostly shape. It's there, but it's not there, hinting at a bigger story. It’s not a fixed representation, but an echo of a place and time.