Brian Jackson, "Lil Collins," Transylvania, Louisiana 1999

Deborah Luster made this portrait, "Lil Collins," in Transylvania, Louisiana, using a process that feels like it's digging back into the past. Look at the surface, it’s a shiny, almost ghostly silver. This isn't your slick digital image; it's got this old-timey realness, like a daguerreotype from the Civil War. The textures are incredible. The jeans have that worn-in, soft look, while the boots appear heavy and solid. The lighting, which must have been so carefully considered during the shoot, creates this aura of strength and vulnerability at the same time. I'm drawn to the way the shadows play on his torso, and how those smudges and imperfections around the edges of the plate add to the feeling that this is a moment captured, not manufactured. It reminds me a bit of some of the photos by Sally Mann, who also embraces imperfections and history in her work. It's like Luster is saying, "Hey, let's slow down and really see each other."