San Francisco 1999

Eli Reed's photograph, "San Francisco" is a study in black and white; it is an image that vibrates between the harsh realities of life, but also moments of quiet reflection. I can only imagine what it must have been like to walk the streets of San Francisco with a camera in hand. Eli Reed, like many artists, had a deep sense of empathy. You can see it in the lines of worry etched on the subject's face. He captured the way the light catches the chain around his neck, turning something ordinary into something precious. The background feels blurred like a dream. The texture of the photograph itself—the graininess of the film—adds to the feeling of being there, in that moment, as if Reed is in conversation with other photographers like Roy DeCarava, who similarly captured a profound sense of place. Each artist building upon what the other has done, seeing the world through each other's eyes. It reminds me that we're all part of something bigger.