Eleanor, Port Huron 1942

Harry Callahan made this photograph, "Eleanor, Port Huron", with a camera and film, resulting in this silver print, but what is it? It’s a close-up of an arm on the beach, so intimate and yet so distant; light and shadow become abstract shapes. I love how the texture of the skin and the sand play off each other. The shadows cast by the sun give depth to the composition. It's like Callahan is not just capturing a moment but also exploring the abstract possibilities of light and form. Look at the tonal range, the way the light is so subtly gradated across the skin, almost like a three-dimensional drawing. The contrast with the granular sand is so tactile you can almost feel it. I am reminded of Edward Weston, though Callahan makes it so personal, this ongoing conversation about how we see, and what we choose to frame. It’s not about answers, is it? It's about the beauty and mystery of questions.