It is more than the grain and image. Infinitely more.

This is my favorite photograph of all time and was taken by Jo Ann Santangelo, a brilliant documentary photographer. This image combines everything a photographer must simultaneously be superb at in order to create an unforgettable image: a subject, a camera, an emulsion, and printing paper. But there is much more than just those things.

The Wait, from Walking the Block: Christopher Street, Jo Ann Santangelo (c)

https://www.joannsantangelo.com/

A great photograph is about what the photographer brings to the image as an individual. Selecting what to photograph, framing it, and pulling the trigger reveals as much about the photographer as it does their subject. In this sense, taking a photograph is an act of moral communication. It is a pure reflection of the photographer’s sensibilities and character.

Jo Ann communicates the dignity of everyone she photographs and what she deeply believes. Each picture she takes is who she is and what she stands for in her work and life.

She invites us in to see it all.

This picture is part of a series called Walking the Block: Christopher Street in which she spent two years documenting the LGBTQ community on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village, home of the original Stonewall Riots in 1969.

Jo Ann shot this series on 35mm film at 400 ASA and pushed it to 1200 ASA to obtain the very grainy look she achieves in this incredible work. Moreover, she developed, in all senses of the word, a true friendship with everyone in the community she photographed.