Felton Williams, Angola, Louisiana 17 - 1999

Deborah Luster made this tintype photograph of Felton Williams in Angola, Louisiana. I’m really drawn to the quiet intensity of this image. It's like a painting in some ways, with its limited palette of warm, muted tones, and the way the light catches the texture of his skin and the knit of his hat. The artist must have taken time to set up the shot, letting the image emerge from the chemistry of the darkroom. It’s a delicate balance, isn't it? Trying to capture something real without losing the mystery. It makes me think about the power of portraiture. How it can freeze a moment and yet still hint at a whole life. What was he thinking, feeling, at that moment the photograph was taken? We can’t ever really know, but the image invites us to look, to wonder, to connect. Like all artists, Luster is in conversation with other artists across time, inspiring new ways of seeing, thinking, and feeling.