Couple on Street, New York City 1948

Ruth Orkin captured this image of a couple on a New York street with a camera, at some point in her career, but we don’t know exactly when! I love how the moment seems so intimate, yet it's unfolding right there in public. The guy is perched on a chair and the woman is leaning in close, with a tenderness that feels timeless. You can almost hear the sounds of the city swirling around them: the bus rumbling by, the chatter of passersby, and the honking of horns, none of which interrupt the intensity of their gaze. What were they saying to each other in that moment? Were they just starting out or had they known each other for years? The composition itself is pretty interesting, right? The figures in the background are like ghosts, blurred and indistinct, which makes the couple stand out even more. The whole scene makes me think about the search for intimacy within the chaos of modern urban life, which is maybe something Orkin was exploring more broadly in her work.