Washington, D.C. Mrs. Ella Watson, a government charwoman, with three grandchildren and her adopted daughter after 1942

Gordon Parks made this photograph of Mrs. Ella Watson, a government charwoman, with three grandchildren and her adopted daughter in Washington, D.C. The composition is split in two, dividing the family across the frame. The greyscale gives it a kind of starkness and simplicity, but look closely at the textures: the smooth skin of the children versus the worn surfaces of the walls and furniture. Parks uses light and shadow to carve out the details. I love how the photograph draws you in, like you're stepping into their lives for a brief moment. The older girl sits on a barrel and plays with a doll, which strikes me because you get the sense of how tough things are for them, but it is balanced with this tender gesture towards something precious. It reminds me of the work of artists like Dorothea Lange, who also used photography to capture the human condition with such empathy and honesty.