Benefit, The Museum of Modern Art, New York City 1977

Larry Fink’s photograph, “Benefit”, captures a moment from a party, probably in New York. The image, rendered in black and white, zeroes in on a dancing couple. I wonder what Larry was thinking when he snapped this shot? It's like he’s right there in the mix, close enough to feel the rhythm and see the gleam on that bracelet. The composition is intimate and a bit voyeuristic, right? I can imagine him, camera in hand, dodging elbows and champagne flutes. There’s something charged in the contrast of textures: the man's rough hand against the smooth, bare back of his partner. That hand – it tells a story of age, experience, maybe even a little possessiveness. It reminds me a bit of Weegee’s work, that same gritty, in-your-face approach. These photographers, they’re like painters in a way, using light and shadow to carve out meaning from the chaos. And in that moment, they capture something real, something raw.