Count Oslin's Wedding, Martins Creek, Pennsylvania 1978

Larry Fink made this black and white photograph, "Count Oslin's Wedding, Martins Creek, Pennsylvania," at an unspecified date. It has this documentary feel, but it's also got a sharp, emotional punch. Check out how Fink plays with light and shadow, carving out these figures from the darkness. The graininess, the deep blacks, it's all so tactile, you can almost feel the humidity of that wedding reception. Look at the way the light catches on the woman’s dress, and how her arm is resting against the man’s body, so that you feel like you are intruding on a private moment. And her bare back! It is like an Impressionist’s use of light. Fink reminds me a little of Diane Arbus, who was also interested in the gritty side of life. But with Fink, there's a warmth, a sense of intimacy. It’s the kind of image that stays with you, haunting and unresolved.