Noordzijde van het koor van de Hervormde Kerk te Scherpenisse 1905

This small sepia photograph depicts the north side of the choir of the Dutch Reformed Church in Scherpenisse. Imagine the artist standing here, composing the shot, head under a dark cloth, waiting for the light to be just right. The photographic surface has a tactile presence, the building looming large in the frame. The surface of the church appears aged, maybe crumbling in places. You can almost feel the rough texture. What was the photographer thinking as they made this? Did they have an emotional connection to the building or were they just documenting its form? Was it a need to archive, or to capture something more spiritual? Photography feels similar to painting in this respect. There is an intention that translates the subject into something expressive. I think the image speaks to the ways photography can be a conversation with the past, capturing fleeting moments in time. We are all linked through these gestures of recording.