7:00 A.M.: Margie rides the train to her job-training class in downtown Chicago. Accompanying her is Cherilyn, a resident at the Olive Branch who recently found a job as a home-care worker. 1999

Curator: Donna Ferrato captured this gelatin silver print, a photograph titled "7:00 A.M.: Margie rides the train to her job-training class in downtown Chicago. Accompanying her is Cherilyn, a resident at the Olive Branch who recently found a job as a home-care worker" in 1999. It’s a fairly intimate shot of two women on a crowded train. Editor: Yes, it strikes me immediately as an intensely human scene. The monochrome tonality contributes to this moodiness; the contrasts are quite pronounced, enhancing the subjects’ expressions, almost highlighting them against the anonymous passengers in the background. Curator: Ferrato employs a tight, almost claustrophobic composition here. The geometry is broken only by soft faces. The composition is nearly symmetrical, bisecting on the right third where another woman faces us but almost out of view, creating this intriguing dynamic between the identifiable foreground and the almost ghostly figures in the periphery. Editor: That juxtaposition of foreground and background underscores a crucial social dynamic—the individual journey juxtaposed against the collective experience. Margie and Cherilyn, are not just riders but participants navigating systemic hurdles toward economic independence, representing wider intersections of gender, class and race within urban environments. This image seems a clear echo of documentary traditions committed to the lives of marginalized people. Curator: There’s a narrative quality at play here, with implied actions occurring. The women are framed almost conversationally; what were they discussing? Does this moment tell a wider story about daily perseverance? It's street photography with intentional, crafted focus. The dark, deep blacks emphasize shape. Editor: Exactly, consider the visual narrative: these are two Black women likely facing compounded marginalization—lack of access to fair housing or career opportunity. A picture might say a thousand words, but I hear a novel of experiences echoing beyond our current perspective. And though stark and real, it also conveys resilience. Curator: Thinking structurally about photography itself, it’s incredible how such an essentially flat medium conveys dimension—psychological and physical. The shallow depth of field isolates these two women—separates them from their fellow riders and creates focus on their humanity. The strong visual language helps convey its meaning so that its subject becomes more about the feeling instead of about a specific documentation. Editor: And in doing so it connects on a profoundly human level that can translate across social divides. Images like these aren't simply about observing but engaging us actively with ongoing struggles that permeate beyond our viewing window. Curator: I appreciate the photograph’s capability to allow for all manner of such rich, layered readings and analysis. Editor: As do I!