Groep amateurfotografen (AFV) bij een clubuitje met camera's, op de voorgrond vermoedelijk Michel Ameschot c. 1890 - 1895

This photographic work titled, "Groep amateurfotografen (AFV) bij een clubuitje met camera's, op de voorgrond vermoedelijk Michel Ameschot" was created by H. Ameschot. The sepia tones immediately suggest a narrative fixed in time, almost faded. The composition leads us from the gathering of men to the open field in the distance, using the group as a signifier for community. The repetition of the scene side by side, typical of stereoscopic images, destabilizes our perception, asking us to reconsider the meaning of doubling. The photograph, as a medium, is inherently linked to the real, yet here it presents us with a constructed image, a performance of camaraderie. Consider the structuralist perspective, where the photograph functions as a sign, not merely reflecting reality but constructing it. It invites us to consider how photography, even in its early forms, engaged with questions of representation, reality, and the gaze.