The first footsteps of autumn a hundred years ago, captured in a photo[청계천 옆 사진관]

Centennial Photo No. 75

Waiting for the fall of 100 years ago: What scenery remains in your heart?

Among the photos in the newspaper, there are not only photos taken by photojournalists working for the newspaper with all their might. There are also ‘sudden’ photos. When going to and from a fierce scene or traveling with family, if they come across a beautiful scene by chance, they pick up a camera or smartphone and capture the moment. Then, they add a description and publish it in the newspaper or upload it to Instagram. As of 2024, the Dong-A Ilbo’s photo essay and photo column called Cat’s Eye are platforms where such photos can be active.

This week’s Hundred Years Photo features weather photos. 100 years ago, last week’s newspapers had quite a few photos that seemed to have been taken in a hurry. There were as many as three weather sketch photos in one week. Given that a newspaper has only four or six pages a day and that a week’s worth of photos is no more than 20, it is unusual to have three weather photos. I think it means that 100 years ago, during the transition from summer to fall, there were many people waiting for fall news and many reporters trying to show it through photos.

If the photos had been saved in a higher resolution, I could have shown you a more vivid scene, but that’s too bad. Even though the photos are low-quality, if you close your eyes and imagine, wouldn’t a much more vivid scene come to mind?

The first photo is from page 2, dated August 18, 1924.

First autumn in the suburbs

A large tree stands in front of the camera, its leaves hanging down, while two round trees on the far left appear smaller, providing a sense of perspective. The tree in the foreground seems to contain the last breath of summer, with its leaves hanging down from its branches. Its majesty stands still, as if time has stopped, while the two round trees in the distance are small and subtle, hinting at the first footsteps of autumn that are slowly approaching. They blend harmoniously with each other in the frame, and they calmly tell the story of the changing seasons as depicted by nature.

This scene, where the lushness of the nearby landscape contrasts with the tranquility of the distant landscape, presents us with a lyrical landscape that makes us sense the coolness of autumn that has already arrived even in the heat of summer, and makes us feel the passage of time.

The second photo is from August 20, 1924.

Fall corn ears

Since they were sown in the same season, they should actually be the same size, but in the photo, the sorghum on the left is very large, and the three on the right are small. They probably took the photo with a wide-angle lens, not a telephoto lens, to give the screen a sense of rhythm.

The sorghum heads standing tall on the left seem to be preparing for the coming of fall, as if they still have the remains of summer. The smaller sorghums that appear behind them are quietly bowing their heads, as if they are humbly waiting for fall.
Thanks to this unique perspective provided by the wide-angle lens, the scenery in the picture has a sense of rhythm. It is as if nature is dancing to express the passage of time. The nearby millet stands proudly and confidently, while the millet in the distance follows quietly behind, surrendering itself to the passage of time.
In this photo, nature sings the end of one season and the beginning of another.

The last photo is from August 23, 1924.

Facing the evening breeze = View of the Han River Bridge

Two women are walking along the riverside near the Hangang Bridge, one of the symbols of Seoul today. The round streetlights are in harmony with the cloudy sky. Perhaps that sky is a pastel red?

The round streetlights stand beside them, emitting a soft light, as if symbolizing the unchanging peace that does not change with the passage of time. The women’s appearances capture the stillness of this moment, as if they are just stopping here for a moment and listening to the story that nature is telling them. The leisure and tranquility that hangs over the Han River on an evening that is turning into autumn is completely permeated into this photo.
The expression “opinion” is not used much by newspaper reporters these days. Opinion: The dictionary defines it as a thought or opinion that one has after looking at something or an event.

Unlike regular photos, none of the three photos have any captions or related articles. They just have one-line titles. Is that irresponsible? Rather, I think they left some space for readers to enjoy the autumn scenery and come up with their own thoughts.

Today, we looked at a photo of the landscape of our country 100 years ago, when the hot summer was ending and autumn was coming. What do you see in the photo? Please leave your thoughts in the comments.
Will fall really come after this week? You must have had a hard time with the heat wave. I hope you can hold on a little longer.

Reporter Byun Young-wook [email protected]

2024-08-25 06:08:40