Gezicht op een weg door een berglandschap in Japan before 1922

S. Satake made this photograph, *Gezicht op een weg door een berglandschap in Japan*, probably with a large format camera, giving the image a remarkable depth of field, which is crucial in this work. It’s mostly greyscale, with some faded browns, giving the feeling of a dreamscape. Look at the way the trees on the right fade into the mist, they are almost disappearing, while the trees on the left stand out against the hillside in sharp detail. It’s interesting how Satake uses the texture of the trees to suggest distance and depth. I'm particularly drawn to the figure walking along the road, a tiny figure, yet monumental in the scheme of the composition. Their presence reminds me of the scale of nature versus humanity. The play of light and shadow is reminiscent of the atmospheric perspective in the work of J.M.W. Turner. There is an enduring quality to photographs like this, a quiet acknowledgment of the temporal, how things come and go, like light and shadow.