Near Salt Lake City, Utah 1968

This is "Near Salt Lake City, Utah" by Don Donaghy, a small black and white photograph, capturing an outdoor scene, maybe a motel. I can imagine Donaghy peering through the camera lens, making decisions about light and shadow. He’s captured a figure in a chair, back to us, a car, and a few bushes. The scene is simple, yet filled with quiet observations. I think he’s trying to freeze a moment of everyday life, a little story playing out in a desolate landscape. I love how he uses contrast to create depth and mood. The dark shadows of the foreground contrast with the sunlit background, drawing our eyes deeper into the scene. You can almost feel the heat of the sun and the stillness of the air. It reminds me of some of the early street photographers, like Robert Frank, who found beauty in the mundane. Artists are always looking, always learning from each other, each capturing a small piece of the world and showing it back to us in new ways.