Todd Walker 1975

Here we see Mike Mandel's portrait of Todd Walker, a simple, small photograph, likely printed in a darkroom. The gradations of tone feel really important here, and contribute to the slightly grainy texture overall. It makes me think about process, about how the image gradually comes to life in the developer, the way a photograph can emerge unexpectedly. The image feels somehow like it could be any baseball player, and at the same time, Todd Walker's specificity and personality shines through, particularly in his expression. Look at the slight blur in the background: Mandel is playing with focal depth to flatten the stadium while also emphasizing Walker in the foreground. It reminds me a little of some of those Weegee photographs – a document and a portrait at the same time. Art doesn't have to be one thing or another, right? It’s a photograph that asks us to consider what we're seeing, and how we see it.