Lee Harvey Oswald Holding the Rifle... 1963

This photograph of Lee Harvey Oswald holding a rifle was taken by his wife, Marina Oswald, sometime in 1963. In stark black and white, the photograph presents Oswald in a way that feels both posed and unsettlingly casual. There's a fragility to the surface, like it could fade or crumble at any moment, which, given its subject, feels apt. Look at the way the shadows create these hard shapes, almost like cut-outs, next to softer blurred areas; like the dog at the lower left, a fleeting presence. The contrast between light and dark emphasizes the rifle Oswald is holding, almost seeming to force our eye to it. It is this element that gives the photo its dark undertones. In the end, the image stays with you, like a half-remembered nightmare, raising more questions than answers. It brings to mind Weegee's crime scene photography, those stark images that capture a moment of intense human drama.