Georgia O'Keeffe 1924

Here's a photo of Georgia O'Keeffe, snapped by Alfred Stieglitz, and printed on a small sheet. Stieglitz captures O’Keeffe with a soft focus, a technique that almost feels like sketching with light. It’s not about sharp details; it's more about mood, about a feeling. You can see the way the light sort of wraps around her face, softening her features and giving the image an intimate quality. Look at the texture of her shawl, how it’s not perfectly smooth but full of tiny details, like the weave of a rough fabric. That’s not an accident. Stieglitz wants you to feel the weight and warmth of the material, even in a still, black and white image. And notice how her eyes lock with the camera, a gaze that's both present and distant, hinting at the complexities within. I'm reminded of the portraits of Gertrude Stein by Picasso, they share a certain weightiness, a sense of capturing something essential about the sitter. Both works leave you pondering the relationship between the artist and their subject, and the ways in which we see and understand each other.