Eleanor, New York 1945

Harry Callahan made this gelatin silver print of Eleanor, in New York, sometime in the middle of the 20th century. Look at the range of dark to light: it's so subtle. You can sense the light as something soft, almost like it is being diffused. The high contrast, the way the light rakes across the brickwork and Eleanor's face, all work together to carve out a sense of place. Callahan has created so many rich blacks, but he also holds onto the light. Eleanor's face is so well lit, it’s like Callahan is revealing her to us, but in the context of something else – a place. There is something so powerful about the composition: the solid brickwork, the strong diagonal cast of light, and Eleanor, positioned right there. For me, this photograph is like a film still, something like Maya Deren's "Meshes of the Afternoon," where light and shadow create a psychological space. It’s full of ambiguity, and open to so many interpretations, like a painting.