[Argyle Gate, St Andrews]

The Pends, the area of St. Andrews, Scotland, shown in this calotype, marks the entrance to the cathedral district. Hill and Adamson (David Octavius Hill [1802-70] and Robert Adamson [1821-48]) have positioned their camera directly in front of an arched gateway, capturing a fascinating play of light, shadow, and form. The picture extends backward, through and beyond the second arch, and upward, to the small patch of sky that is punctuated by a chimney. In spite of the tension inherent in the composition, Hill and Adamson have skillfully contained the image within the frame of the arch in the foreground. The light at the top contrasts with the shadow on the left, which cuts across the pathway and merges with the right wall, completing the sense of enclosure.

Anne M. Lyden. Hill and Adamson, In Focus: Photographs from the J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 1999), 84. ©1999, J. Paul Getty Museum.