After the Shower c. 1925

C. Frankenberger made "After the Shower," a photograph, probably sometime in the early twentieth century. It looks like it was made using a soft focus lens, which gives everything this dreamy, slightly out-of-focus effect. The texture of the photograph is so interesting. It's almost like looking at a watercolor painting rather than a photograph because the focus gives this overall sense of movement and transience. Look at the lower half of the picture. The way the light reflects on the water, it almost looks like tiny brushstrokes. What’s also fascinating is how the artist uses a muted palette, mostly grays and browns, to create this atmosphere. The subtle variations in tone help to define the shapes of the trees and the reflections in the water without being too literal. It reminds me a bit of the work of Pictorialist photographers like Alfred Stieglitz, who also tried to make photographs that looked more like paintings. It’s all about mood, a feeling, rather than a sharp depiction.