Margie's son, Jamont, 9, watches from his perch on a bunk bed as his mother chooses a dress for her job-training class. In the United States an alarming number of children are homeless. Olive Branch Mission, Chicago. 1999

This gelatin silver print was made by Donna Ferrato, sometime after 1973, and it captures a really tender but also stark moment. The grey tones are so carefully modulated, from the bright light reflecting off the bunk bed frame to the deep shadows under the eaves of the bed. It's this dance between light and dark, a sort of chiaroscuro, that makes you feel the weight of the moment, that something is at stake. Look at the way the light falls on the boy's face. It's so soft, and yet so revealing. You can see the worry in his eyes, but also this incredible resilience. The texture of the photo is palpable; you can almost feel the rough blanket beneath him, the smooth pages of the book he's holding. It’s these details that pull you into the scene, and make you feel like you're right there with him. Ferrato's work often deals with these kinds of intimate, vulnerable moments. She reminds me a little of Nan Goldin, in that she isn't afraid to show us the raw, unfiltered truth of human experience. Like Goldin, Ferrato embraces the ambiguity of life, refusing to offer easy answers or tidy resolutions.