Jimmy See, Angola, Louisiana 24 - 1999

Deborah Luster made this tintype, Jimmy See, Angola, Louisiana, sometime around the turn of the millennium. I can imagine Deborah lugging her large format camera around, trying to capture something real about the people at Angola. This process is so different from how we take photos today with our phones. With a tintype, you only get one shot. It must have felt like a special occasion, like getting your portrait painted. Jimmy looks a bit stiff, but there’s also a tenderness in the way he holds the wooden motorcycle. Maybe he made it himself? The blacks are so rich and velvety, and the highlights glow like old silver. I wonder what Jimmy thought of the final image. Did he like the way he looked? Did it capture something true about him? I’m sure Deborah hoped it did. That's the magic of photography, isn't it? Trying to freeze a moment in time and hoping that it speaks to something larger than itself.