Smelting on the River Blythe in Suffolk

Unknown artist

From 1850, scenes of fishing and fishermen were a popular genre in painting, which for example explains the success of the Hague School. For photographers it was difficult with the technical means then at their disposal to successfully capture sharp contrasts, backlighting, and the glittering on the water. Emerson here managed not to reduce the fishermen to mere black silhouettes, but rather portray them in subtle shades of grey.