In this photograph, Alfred Stieglitz kept detail to a minimum, isolating a lone white house in a composition of overall darkness that is dramatically torn into two zones as the impending storm chases away the remnants of clear sky. The title of the work suggests that the image could be understood as a visual symphony, an equivalent of musical sound. Made at a time of personal turmoil in Stieglitz's life, the photograph had emotional resonance, as well. It is an important precursor to his celebrated images of clouds, titled the Equivalents, in which he developed his concept of photographs as metaphors for inner feelings. Stieglitz ultimately believed that through clouds he could express his philosophy of life.

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