Vrouw en drie kinderen in de streekdracht van Bunschoten-Spakenburg c. 1900 - 1930

Richard Tepe made this photograph of a woman and three children in Bunschoten-Spakenburg traditional costume using a dry-plate process, but it’s more than just a documentation of a cultural moment. The sepia tone, that warm, earthy brown, gives the whole scene a timeless quality. I’m drawn to the way the light falls on the brick wall to the right, creating a kind of rough texture that contrasts with the smoother surfaces of the wooden door and the children’s clothing. It’s funny how the tones all merge, almost like a painting, blending the figures with the background and flattening the image slightly. The way the children are arranged, almost posed, reminds me of August Sander's portraits. There’s a similar interest in documenting types, but here it’s filtered through Tepe's own lens. It makes you think about how we look at each other and how we try to freeze moments in time.