Untitled (San Francisco from Telegraph Hill) c. 1925

Curator: What a photograph! It's called "Untitled (San Francisco from Telegraph Hill)," by William Edward Dassonville. Editor: My first thought? A breezy, melancholic silence. The way those trees bend... they're almost weeping towards the city. Curator: Dassonville, he was all about manipulating the photographic process. He saw photography as less about documenting and more about crafting an emotional experience. The platinum print, in particular, gives it this incredible tonal range. Editor: Exactly. Platinum printing was such a specialized, expensive process. The choice of material really speaks to the artistic ambitions of the photographer and the market he was trying to reach. A statement about value as much as aesthetics. Curator: It’s a gorgeous balance, a dance between the natural and the urban. Editor: Absolutely, a subtle yet profound commentary on the industrialized landscape through its very means of production. Curator: It feels like a memory, doesn’t it? Fading slightly at the edges. Editor: Leaving me with a sense of the labor and value embedded in the image itself.