Angola, Louisiana 1998 - 2002

This image, Angola, Louisiana, is one of Deborah Luster's tintypes. You can tell it was made with a photographic process that's both immediate and strangely antique, with all the scratches and imperfections we don't usually see in photography. It feels as though it's trying to communicate something beyond the subject itself. Here's this man, turned away from us, his white t-shirt almost glowing against that huge, dark ground. The darkness is not neutral – it feels thick, like tar, a heavy presence. Look at those scratches; they're so physical. They feel like scars, like marks of time and trauma, and they speak volumes about the process of making this image and the stories it holds. Luster's work, particularly her images from prisons, reminds me of Diane Arbus, but with a quieter, more mournful tone. Both find beauty and dignity in unexpected places, and remind us that seeing is not just about looking, it’s about feeling.