William LaRue, Capitol Reef, Utah 1961

This is Minor White’s photograph, *William LaRue, Capitol Reef, Utah*. I love how White uses black and white to distill form; it’s like he’s taking the world down to its barest bones, the raw materials of seeing. The way the light plays on William’s face and shoulder is incredible, creating these soft gradations that almost feel like a caress. Look how the subtle shifts in tone echo the swirling patterns in the rock behind him. There's a gesture of light that skims across his collarbone, a delicate, almost fleeting moment that anchors the whole image. It’s as if White is saying, "Here, in this instant, is the essence of this person, this place." White, like Alfred Stieglitz, saw photography as a means of spiritual exploration, and you can really see that in this image, it's not just a portrait, it's a kind of meditation. Photography is about how we construct meaning and find resonance in the world around us.