Washington (southwest section), D.C. Negro children in the front door of their home after 1942

Gordon Parks made this black and white photograph of children in Washington D.C. Sometime in the 1940s. Look at the wood of the house around them, so full of character and texture! Parks has created a composition with the children stacked behind one another, each peeking out from the doorway to look at the artist looking at them. I wonder what Parks was thinking when he composed the shot and how the children felt as they were being photographed. How many takes did he take, did they laugh? The way Parks captures this moment feels so intimate, like he knew the kids. He made many photographs about social justice, I find myself wondering how he made those pictures? Were they different? Photography, like painting, relies on the person holding the camera and what they choose to focus on. Thinking about Parks' work makes me think about other photographers and painters—we are all looking at each other's work, in an ongoing conversation, inspiring one another to make art.