Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania 1935

This photograph of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, was taken by Walker Evans and captures a street winding uphill through modest homes and telephone poles. Looking at this picture, I can imagine Evans setting up his camera, trying to capture the scene just right, maybe waiting for the light to soften. There's a certain quietness to the scene. It reminds me of those old Kodachrome photos, or the black and white snapshots I'd see in family albums. I wonder what Evans was thinking when he took it? Was he trying to document a particular moment in American life? Or was he just drawn to the simple beauty of the everyday? The image is so still. You can almost feel the dust on the road and the summer heat. It's like a time capsule, preserving a small piece of the world. You can see the influence of photographers like Eugène Atget, who also chronicled urban life. There is an exchange of ideas across time between the artists, inspiring each other’s creativity. It's a poignant reminder of a bygone era.