Groepsportret van onbekende Indonesiërs in de haven van Amsterdam 1890 - 1920

This stereograph by S. Herz captures a group portrait of Indonesians in the port of Amsterdam. The sepia tones feel like a warm filter, softening the edges of a moment frozen in time. I can imagine the photographer, adjusting the lens, trying to wrangle this group of people into a cohesive whole. The light is hitting everyone differently, throwing different parts of the scene into relief. What was it like to stand here, in the port, the salty air thick with the smell of distant lands and the sounds of creaking ships? I wonder about the people in the picture, their stories, their journeys. There's a sense of anticipation, as if they're on the cusp of something new. Thinking about the photographer, Herz, and the technology that allowed for this duplication, distribution, and consumption of images feels important here. Photography is a type of painting, a type of mark-making, a type of history making.