Sleepboot 'Bangkok' van de Tanjong Pagar Dock Co. Ltd. in Singapore before 1905

This photograph of the ‘Bangkok’ was probably captured with a large format camera, somewhere in Singapore by G.R. Lambert & Co. The image is full of quiet symmetries and gentle reflections. The boat, floating on still water, is connected to the land by two ropes—lifelines, almost. I imagine the photographer carefully setting up the shot, arranging the elements just so. They must have considered the light, the composition, and the stillness of the water. There's a stillness, a silence, to the picture. The lack of color almost lends it a timelessness, as if this moment could be any moment. And yet, the specificity of the boat's name, ‘Bangkok’, and the location root it in a particular time and place. I find myself thinking about the photographer, the boat builders, and the people who traveled on this ship – all connected through this image. It's a reminder of how we build on each other's work, creating a conversation across time and place.