Untitled (little girl standing on grass, group of adults in background) c. 1940

This is a small black and white photograph by Paul Gittings, showing a little girl standing on grass, with a group of adults in the background. The image has been inverted so that everything is in negative, which is really interesting because, right away, it makes you think about the possibilities of photography. It reminds me of being in a darkroom, and things slowly appearing out of nowhere. I imagine Gittings playing with how we see and remember. The girl is the darkest part of the image, a shadowy figure with wild white hair. It's like she's a ghost, but a solid one. The adults behind her are faded and out of focus. I wonder what she's thinking, being the center of attention in this strange world. Maybe Gittings saw something special in her, a kind of magic or mystery. He captures her solitude, but also her resilience, in this simple, but powerful way.