amanda rivkin, photographer

Pictured: A World at 7 Billion
The New York Times Lens Blog
December 7, 2011, 5:00 am
By KERRI MACDONALD

Here it is: A visual time capsule, capturing our world at seven billion people — and counting. Below, you’ll find a virtual quilt that weaves together about 400 of the more than 1,000 photographs we received. There is little rhyme or reason to the order you see. We sought a mega-snapshot of our world — different regions, subjects, viewpoints.

There is a serendipitous beauty in the chaos.

What will these photos tell the future generation — including some of the newborns who were photographed by Lynsey Addario on Oct. 31 — about our world? Explore the gallery using the search box just below this text. Browse by name, location, or — if you want to get creative — randomly, by word. One of our most successful searches was “hope,” which brings together the optimism we found in so many pictures.

[...]

View my image, “A Dissident Remarries,” featured as #3 of 390 images submitted by photographers working with The New York Times and readers.

Photo caption: The view of a few of the remaining buildings left at the once sprawling Cabrini Green housing project on Chicago’s Near North Side and the Chicago skyline from the corridor of a Cabrini Green high rise at 1230 N. Burling on the northeast corner of Halstead and Division Streets on December 18, 2007.

In late 2007 and through early 2008, I spent several months following and photographing the Revolutionary Communists, a group based around the personality of Bob Avakian, a reclusive Armenian-American said last to be living in Paris. At the time, they lived at 1230 N. Burling, the last Cabrini Green high-rise building where demolition will begin today. The photo essay, “Plan for Transformation” borrows its title from the name of the urban renewal scheme devised by Mayor Richard M. Daley and the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) that would see the destruction of some of the largest public housing projects in the nation (at their inception the world) which were built under the leadership and direction of Mayor Richard M. Daley’s father Richard J. Daley during his 21-year tenure as mayor for life. Previously in Fortnight Journal, I wrote in an article entitled “The Chicago Way“:

The outcome of the younger Daley’s “Plan for Transformation”–or, more accurately, the demolition of Chicago Housing Authority projects–would hand over large swaths of prime Chicago real estate on the Near North, Near West and South Sides to for-profit developers at the height of the housing boom. Local newspaper articles would first be largely positive of the effort, extolling the virtue of correcting euphemistic “blight.” The same papers would later deride the large number of unsold units and absence of so-called “mixed income” (read: ghetto people) units in the new luxury complexes.

To anyone who had paid attention, this last development was seemingly surprising only to the local newspapers, that clearly had not been paying very much attention. Nobody asked what happened to the people that used to inhabit the high rises who had vanished, somehow, seemingly overnight.

In fact, in a moment of unusual candor on the topic, Bruce Dold–editor of The Chicago Tribune editorial page and moderator of a mayoral debate on January 27 at WGN television studios–asked Rahm Emanuel, Daley’s all-but-assumed successor, if he felt he had earned the $320,000 he received from attending half a dozen meetings over the course of 14 months on the Freddie Mac board.

Emanuel responded that President Clinton had appointed him to the board as Vice-Chair of the Chicago Housing Authority at the time of the city’s restructuring according to the Plan for Transformation in the late 1990s. The reason Emanuel gave for his appointment was that “we were doing innovative things here in the city of Chicago with regard to mixed-income housing.”

What did it mean to tell a population of public housing residents, in effect, to go back to where they came from? Valerie Jarrett, the Obama aide and former Chicago Housing Authority chief, was Mayor Richard M. Daley’s go-between for the city and public housing residents as the wrecking ball’s timetable ticked. Emanuel, as Vice-Chair, was not so far behind.

But the “Plan for Transformation,” is not heralded as Daley’s greatest triumph because of its success in scattering the urban poor, once gathered around the city’s highly developed urban core, to its perimeter. Rather, the experiment signals the success of a far greater transformation in the alignment and allegiance of power in Chicago, and the largely successful and enormously financially beneficial integration of the city’s white and black elites.

The photo essay “Plan for Transformation” was also featured on The New York Times Lens blog in a post entitled, “Must See: Images on the Web,” published January 4, 2010.

Michael Shaw is “the publisher of the popular progressive blog, BAGnewsNotes. BNN is the only blog dedicated 100% to visual politics and the analysis of news images, and also features original, politically-oriented images from America’s pre-eminent photojournalists.” Included on his list of the “top 10 visual politics/photojournalism blogs” for Blogs.com is Verve Photo and a link to recent work featured on the site by Amanda Rivkin.

Also included on the list is The New York Times Lens blog, where I co-created and contributed a series of 13 interviews with young photographers last year for the “Turning Point” series that asked about an image that served as a source of inspiration and an image by each photographer that represented a turning point in their early careers. In addition to being featured in this series on the Lens blog, “Turning Point: Images That Inspire,” my work was also highlighted in “Must See: Images on the Web” and “Showcase: New President, Old Problems (2009 – The Year in Pictures)”. Additional blogs listed in Shaw’s top ten include No Caption Needed, which featured an analysis of a New York Times page A1 photograph of Rod Blagojevich on his final day in office, “R-e-s-p-e-c-t, Find Out What It Means to Me,” on February 2, 2009, and Prison Photography, which highlighted work photographing the Romathan Gypsy Theater in eastern Slovakia this past June in a post, “The Roma People: Matt Luton building upon a legacy of wandering photographers”.

My good friend Eirini Vourloumis has work featured on The New York Times Lens blog today, “Adding Islam to a Latino Identity,” that includes 19 slides of Latino Muslim life in the New York suburbs. From her interview with Lens editor and New York Times staff photographer Jim Estrin:

Q. What got you started documenting Muslim life in America?
A.My interest in Islam began after the attacks of Sept. 11, as I was interested in how the event affected the daily lives of Muslims in New York. Personally, I was interested in exploring Islam because my mother’s family is Muslim, from Indonesia. Being raised in Athens and baptized Greek Orthodox, I was never exposed to the religion. I desired to learn more about my mother’s culture, using photography as my guide.

Q. Is it different being Muslim in America than in other countries?
A. The main difference is that in America, Muslim society does not have a homogeneous ethnic identity. There are communities of different cultures and backgrounds that embrace Islam. This creates an layered Islamic society where all voices of Islam are represented. In Indonesia, most Muslims live in the same moderate religious lifestyle within the same cultural framework.

It is challenging to live in the U.S as a Muslim. There is a heightened sense of Islamophobia, which can be aggravated by the general portrayal of Muslims in the media. Negative images of Islam — drawn from associations with fundamentalism and terrorism — have begun to marginalize Islamic communities, accentuating the prejudice that many Muslims face in their daily lives. This is why I believe it is important to document Islamic communities in the U.S., to simply show everyday life without focusing on politics or race.

Below, a few of my favorite frames from this series:

Newsletter went out yesterday afternoon:

Greetings!

I would like to announce a holiday print sale of a select series of 17 prints for $75 each. Every print is from a 6 x 10 inch file and is printed on 8 x 10 inch paper and students who order from a .edu e-mail account receive a discounted price of $50.

The holiday print sale is to fundraise for my upcoming trip to Hungary to cover the aftermath of the alumina industrial accident in Ajka that sent toxic red sludge pouring into neighboring villages when an industrial reservoir ruptured.

VIEW THE 17 PRINTS FOR $75
to order: send a request that specifies which print and includes your name and mailing address to amanda.rivkin@gmail.com.

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Two of my fellow Sarah Lawrence alums, Samantha Hinds and Adam Whitney Nichols, launched Fortnight Journal an online literary journal of art, prose and contemporary culture.

VIEW SLOVENSKO FOR FORTNIGHT JOURNAL
to see my first of six contributions.

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The New York Times Lens Blog “Turning Point” series concluded last week after showcasing interviews, original work and photographs both classical and obscure that have served as a source of inspiration for 13 young emerging photojournalists. In alphabetical order, I thank them and Lens blog editor Jim Estrin and contributor Kerri MacDonald for their efforts on this 13-week collaboration that began last spring. They are:

Mustafah Abdulaziz
Robert Caplin
Matt Eich
Maja Hitij
Kirsten Luce
Aga Luczakowska
Justin Maxon
Ayman Oghanna
Ed Ou
Yana Paskova
Amanda Rivkin
Newsha Tavakolian
Peter van Agtmael

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Last but not least, the Georgetown Student Exhibit at FotoWeek DC opens this Saturday from 5-7pm. The exhibit is on view at Walsh Building 2F, 36th & Prospect NW in Georgetown, Washington DC from November 6-13. I will have work from Azerbaijan included in the exhibit.

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Thank you very much for your ongoing interest in my work.

Sincerely,

Amanda Rivkin
—
amanda rivkin, photographer
www.amandarivkin.com

currently in new york city.

Finding Pictures When You’re Not Looking
By KERRI MACDONALD AND AMANDA RIVKIN
October 27, 2010, 3:39 pm

Kirsten Luce, a 28-year-old photographer living in Brooklyn, is a regular contributor to The New York Times. She spent two years photographing along the Mexican border and has freelanced in Mexico City and Atlanta. She is the coordinator for the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop, a nonprofit program for emerging photojournalists. Amanda Rivkin’s conversation with Ms. Luce has been edited.

Q. Where and how was this picture taken?
A. It was taken at a ranch in rural northeastern Mexico. I was living in McAllen, Tex., on the Mexican border, and I was invited to watch a bullfighting practice session. This young matador-in-training was suited up and anxious to begin, but the rest of the men involved were taking their time, socializing. I think it’s important to document everyday life along the border. With the violence occurring in the region, we see a steady stream of dramatic imagery. It is easy to forget that the border is home to millions of people, each one with his or her own story.

Q. How has this image changed the way you work?
A. A few days before it was taken, I resigned from a staff position at a small paper in McAllen. I was preparing to move to New York. For the first time in years, I was shooting without an assignment, deadline or particular format in mind. I was able to sit back, relax and wait for the quieter moments.

It was a turning point in my life, because I had just left a steady newspaper job to join the throngs of freelancers in New York. I was shooting for myself, not for anyone else. Now, when I’m on assignment and think that I’m done getting the obligatory coverage, I always go back and shoot a few extra frames for myself. Not surprisingly, these often end up being the ones that are published.

Inspiration: Ami Vitale
Image: Kashmir, 2004

Q. When did you first come upon this image? How?
A. I first saw this image when Ami gave a presentation at a photojournalism conference in Charlotte, N.C. I was still in school, studying art and anthropology, and I had just started taking classes in photojournalism.

Ami showed some recent work from Kashmir and I was floored. This photo in particular etched itself into my memory. At the same time, it has both a stillness and a sense of urgency. The tones reminded me of a painting of birch trees by Gustav Klimt, which was hanging on my bedroom wall at the time.

Q. How has it influenced you?
A. When I saw this work, I had just returned from a summer in Haiti, where I assisted an anthropology grad student with her doctoral fieldwork. In Ami’s photos, I saw a powerful combination of art, cultural anthropology and journalism. It was inspiring to see that I could use documentary photography to layer my interests.

—
“Turning Point” is an occasional series featuring images by young photographers. The column was conceived by the 26-year-old photographer Amanda Rivkin.

Previous Turning Point Columns:

Wednesday, Aug. 4
Amanda Rivkin, 26.
Inspired by Dorothea Lange.

Wednesday, Aug. 11
Aga Luczakowska, 29.
Inspired by Stanley Greene.

Wednesday, Aug. 18
Robert Caplin, 27.
Inspired by David Alan Harvey.

Wednesday, Aug. 25
Yana Paskova, 28.
Inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Wednesday, Sept. 1
Ayman Oghanna, 25.
Inspired by Alex Webb.

Wednesday, Sept. 8
Newsha Tavakolian, 29.
Inspired by Naser al-Din, the shah of Iran (1848-96).

Wednesday, Sept. 15
Maja Hitij, 26.
Inspired by Kevin Carter.

Wednesday, Sept. 22
Ed Ou, 23.
Inspired by Finbarr O’Reilly.

Wednesday, Sept. 29
Mustafah Abdulaziz, 24.
Inspired by Richard Avedon.

Wednesday, Oct. 6
Justin Maxon, 27.
Inspired by Antoine d’Agata.

Wednesday Oct. 13
Matt Eich, 24.
Inspired by Rich-Joseph Facun.

Wednesday, Oct. 20
Peter van Agtmael, 29.
Inspired by Mark Steinmetz.

A Large Worldview From Small Details
By KERRI MACDONALD AND AMANDA RIVKIN
October 20, 2010, 12:30 pm

Peter van Agtmael, who is represented by Magnum Photos, has spent the last four years documenting America at war. In 2006, his work from Iraq won second place in the general news category from World Press Photo. His book, “2nd Tour, Hope I Don’t Die,” was described on Lens (Nov. 3, 2009). His conversation with Amanda Rivkin has been edited and condensed.

Q. How was this picture taken? And how has it changed the way you work?
A. It was taken on my second trip to the Three Gorges Dam. It hasn’t really changed the way I work. It was just one of many different moments of happiness and satisfaction toward photography I’ve encountered along the way; just a particularly potent one at the time. I wouldn’t be very excited if I took that picture now, but that’s a good thing.

Inspiration: Mark Steinmetz
Image: “Knoxville, Tenn.” Early 1990s.

Q. When did you first come upon this image? How?
A. I came across this picture when it was linked to Steinmetz’s name by Jörg Colberg’s blog, Conscientious. I clicked on the link and looked through his portfolio. It didn’t strike me much at the time, necessarily, but the body of work prompted me to order the book. After looking through the book many times, the picture resonated.

Q. What do you like about this image?
A. I like its mystery; its specificity, yet timelessness; and its elements of universality. I like this picture on its own for how the confluence of seemingly meaningless details somehow make a hypnotic picture. The taut expression, the distracted dog, the patchy grass, the single cloud, the Anywheresville backdrop. I love pictures where easily overlooked mundanities create something magical. I also like this picture for what it represents. Steinmetz’s trilogy of books on America — “South East,” “South Central” and “Greater Atlanta” — is undoubtedly one of the most profound created on the subject of modern America.

Q. How has it influenced your work?
A. It hasn’t influenced the way I shoot. I’ve always enjoyed straight photography. For a while I wished it was in color, but now I can’t imagine it in color.

—
“Turning Point” is an occasional series featuring images by young photographers. The column was conceived by the 26-year-old photographer Amanda Rivkin.

Previous Turning Point Columns:

Wednesday, Aug. 4
Amanda Rivkin, 26.
Inspired by Dorothea Lange.

Wednesday, Aug. 11
Aga Luczakowska, 29.
Inspired by Stanley Greene.

Wednesday, Aug. 18
Robert Caplin, 27.
Inspired by David Alan Harvey.

Wednesday, Aug. 25
Yana Paskova, 28.
Inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Wednesday, Sept. 1
Ayman Oghanna, 25.
Inspired by Alex Webb.

Wednesday, Sept. 8
Newsha Tavakolian, 29.
Inspired by Naser al-Din, the shah of Iran (1848-96).

Wednesday, Sept. 15
Maja Hitij, 26.
Inspired by Kevin Carter.

Wednesday, Sept. 22
Ed Ou, 23.
Inspired by Finbarr O’Reilly.

Wednesday, Sept. 29
Mustafah Abdulaziz, 24.
Inspired by Richard Avedon.

Wednesday, Oct. 6
Justin Maxon, 27.
Inspired by Antoine d’Agata.

Wednesday Oct. 13
Matt Eich, 24.
Inspired by Rich-Joseph Facun.

Finding Clarity in Ambiguity
By KERRI MACDONALD AND AMANDA RIVKIN
October 13, 2010, 1:30 pm

Matt Eich, a freelance photographer based in Norfolk, Va., is a founding member of Luceo Images. Mr. Eich, who was born in 1986, focuses on the sense of identity found within communities. This year, he was named one of PDN’s 30 emerging photographers to watch. He has also received awards from Pictures of the Year International. His conversation with Amanda Rivkin has been condensed.

Q. How was this picture taken?
A. I was in Amsterdam for the Joop Swart Masterclass last November. It had been a week of crazy discussions with photographers from around the world who all speak a slightly different version of this visual language. You could always get interpretations of your work and ways to view your work. We were all sort of reeling from these conversations we had been having.

Toward the end of the week, we all went out to a bar and I snapped a few pictures, one of the back of this guy’s head. It jumped out later when I went back to it. It was then that I lost the sense of guilt that used to come from making pictures that didn’t have an actual narrative. I started to become more comfortable with ambiguity and with the sort of timelessness.

Q. How has this image changed the way you work?
A. This was a kind of milestone. The master class gave me the opportunity to shoot something personal beyond the bounds of what I was used to doing. I started to piece things together and have continued with that project.

Inspiration: Rich-Joseph Facun
Image: “Waiting.” 2007.

Q. When did you first come upon this image? How?
A. I have known Rich for a while. We grew up in the same area. I feel like we have had similar paths; where we went to school and where we are from. He was working for The Virginian-Pilot. My dad called me up and said, “Rich had this awesome photo today.” My mom sent it to me, too.

It provoked a very strong response. There are photos that speak to other photographers and those that speak to a much broader audience. There is something timeless about that particular image, especially in an area with a large military population. It spoke to the audience very clearly.

Q. What do you like about this image?
A. I love the fact that it is technically a great photograph, but it’s so much more than that. It’s this moment in time. It’s a modern interpretation of something that has happened for decades and will continue to happen; families separated by war, waiting for daddy to come home.

Being able to go out into these routine situations and come away with photographs that tell this larger story — they have to really work hard to bring something away. Rich can consistently do that.

Q. How has it influenced your work?
A. I can’t really think of one image changing anything. It’s a cumulative thing.

—
“Turning Point” is an occasional series featuring images by young photographers. The column was conceived by the 26-year-old photographer Amanda Rivkin.

Previous Turning Point Columns:

Wednesday, Aug. 4
Amanda Rivkin, 26.
Inspired by Dorothea Lange.

Wednesday, Aug. 11
Aga Luczakowska, 29.
Inspired by Stanley Greene.

Wednesday, Aug. 18
Robert Caplin, 27.
Inspired by David Alan Harvey.

Wednesday, Aug. 25
Yana Paskova, 28.
Inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Wednesday, Sept. 1
Ayman Oghanna, 25.
Inspired by Alex Webb.

Wednesday, Sept. 8
Newsha Tavakolian, 29.
Inspired by Naser al-Din, the shah of Iran (1848-96).

Wednesday, Sept. 15
Maja Hitij, 26.
Inspired by Kevin Carter.

Wednesday, Sept. 22
Ed Ou, 23.
Inspired by Finbarr O’Reilly.

Wednesday, Sept. 29
Mustafah Abdulaziz, 24.
Inspired by Richard Avedon.

Wednesday, Oct. 6
Justin Maxon, 27.
Inspired by Antoine d’Agata.

Multiple Realities, Multiple Exposures
By KERRI MACDONALD
October 6, 2010, 1:55 pm

Justin Maxon was born in California in 1983 and attended San Francisco State University. In 2007, at 24, Mr. Maxon won first prize in the World Press Photo Daily Life category. Two years later, in 2009, PDN called him one of 30 emerging photographers.

Mr. Maxon’s conversation with Kerri MacDonald has been edited and condensed for space.

Q. How was this picture taken?

A. While working on a long-term project in Chester, a small town outside of Philadelphia, I was besieged in witnessing issues weighing on the lives of the community. I grew frustrated that my work didn’t have the dimension or complexity I felt was necessary to unfold the overlapping issues.

So I took a bold leap and began experimenting with multiple exposures. Placing interrelated moments next to each other, I attempted to create images that had layers of understanding in them, where one could see more of the true complications of life in Chester. People must endure a tremendous amount of weight to survive growing up and living in this community. I wanted my images to reflect that burden, and carry a weight of their own, so that viewers them could get a sense of what I felt working there.

Q. How has this image changed the way you worked?
A. This image changed the way I approach much of my work today, pushing the boundaries of my method of storytelling. I allowed my emotional reaction to tell the story. Most of my new work comes from this internal space, where my own emotions are dictating what I choose to photograph and how it’s represented. This experimentation gave me the tools to achieve a more liberated approach.

In my future work, whether it’s journalistic or conceptual in approach, I will not confine myself to one particular way of storytelling.

Inspiration: Antoine D’Agata (Magnum)
Image: “Japan. 2004.“

Q. When did you first come upon this image? How?
A. I have sought D’Agata’s work for inspiration over the years, but I don’t remember the first time I came across this particular image. Viewing his work recently, though, this photo struck me. His work reaches some deep reservoir of emotion, leaving the viewer feeling unsettled, unsure and questioning — but always better for it.

Q. What do you like about this image?
A. People tend to have walls protecting their vulnerabilities. These obstructions can bend our perceptions of reality to where the familiar becomes unrecognizable. We become phantoms in our human skin, hiding from the world around us. D’Agata’s work exposes these secret parts of himself; the spaces others guard.

When viewing this type of work, those barriers come crashing down. I look at this image and see myself bare, stripped of my armor and shield. I’m forced to look at my own imperfections as a human. This reaction is a rare opportunity for self-discovery in a world full of distractions and indifference. People can’t hide themselves from his work.

Q. How has it influenced your work?
A. This image stirs something meaningful both in photographic terms and in personal terms. It exemplifies the relationship between spirit and feeling that encourages me to photograph, and more importantly live, by and for my emotions. It inspires me to seek out the sensations of life, where we often get a better glimpse into the true nature of things.

—
“Turning Point” is an occasional series featuring images by young photographers. The column was conceived by the 26-year-old photographer Amanda Rivkin.

Previous Turning Point Columns:

Wednesday, Aug. 4
Amanda Rivkin, 26.
Inspired by Dorothea Lange.

Wednesday, Aug. 11
Aga Luczakowska, 29.
Inspired by Stanley Greene.

Wednesday, Aug. 18
Robert Caplin, 27.
Inspired by David Alan Harvey.

Wednesday, Aug. 25
Yana Paskova, 28.
Inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Wednesday, Sept. 1
Ayman Oghanna, 25.
Inspired by Alex Webb.

Wednesday, Sept. 8
Newsha Tavakolian, 29.
Inspired by Naser al-Din, the shah of Iran (1848-96).

Wednesday, Sept. 15
Maja Hitij, 26.
Inspired by Kevin Carter.

Wednesday, Sept. 22
Ed Ou, 23.
Inspired by Finbarr O’Reilly

Wednesday, Sept. 29
Mustafah Abdulaziz, 24.
Inspired by Richard Avedon.

Finding Reality, Through a Lens
By KERRI MACDONALD AND AMANDA RIVKIN
September 29, 2010, 3:23 pm

The Brooklyn-based photographer Mustafah Abdulaziz, 24, was born in New York City. Mr. Abdulaziz, who works as a contract photographer for The Wall Street Journal, has been a member of the photo collective MJR since 2008. His work focuses on people and cultures in transition. In 2009, Mr. Abdulaziz was named one of Magenta Foundation’s Emerging Photographers, and this year he was nominated for young photographer at the International Center of Photography’s Infinity Awards. His conversation with Amanda Rivkin has been edited and condensed for space.

Q. How was this picture taken?

A. The Mural Arts Program of Philadelphia commissioned me to do a series of portraits during the installation of a mural on the side of a methadone clinic in North Philadelphia. People who were on methadone worked on the mural — some contributing poetry and writing for the muralist, James Burns; others putting it together in the basement of the clinic.

This portrait of Peggy was taken in the alleyway outside the clinic, in front of paper taped to the wall where she had helped tell her own story of addiction and recovery. I ended up talking to Peggy for hours, shooting more Kodak film than I’d planned. I made this photograph after she had recounted how she once told her children to look away while she shot up. She began to cry and I asked her if I could give her a hug. Afterward, when she looked into the camera, the decision to press the button was involuntary — a reaction to that fraction of a moment she gave the viewer.

I don’t remember taking this picture because I wasn’t looking through the lens. I was looking over it, directly at her.

Q. How has this image changed the way you work?

A. This transformed my perception of the power of raw, minimalist portraiture using documentary-based storytelling. I’m now fascinated by the reality of what is photographed: its believability, and how close it comes to representing the reality of a moment while creating an undeniable bridge, through composition and form, between the moment it was created and the moment it’s viewed.

Refining this process, through self-awareness and a constant focus on how these tools can tell stories, is how I believe I will elevate my photographs to a new and far more dynamic level, both visually and intellectually.

Inspiration: Richard Avedon
Image: Clarence Lippard, Drifter, Interstate 80, Sparks, Nev., Aug. 29, 1983.

Q. When did you first come upon this image? How?
A. I came across this photograph in Mr. Avedon’s book “In The American West,” my first experience with photography and what started my interest in making pictures. I was in college for journalism and came across it by chance at a bookstore, just because it was bright and caught my attention. I kept going back to see it. To this day, I don’t have a copy. It is still magic and you can never really own that.

Q. What do you like about this image?
A. For me, this diptych illustrates what is truly unique and remarkable about photography. It has an ability to interact with reality while harnessing the camera to communicate a sensation. His clothes and worn skin are the real captions, while Avedon’s visual presentation breathes this moment into an immortal, frozen state. He is forever gesturing and looking at the viewer. Forever alive.

Q. How has it influenced your work?
A. It made me want to make pictures. Of anything. It really is what started me down this path. I was influenced by the clarity of using the glow of white and the images that can result when approaching an idea or subject matter with intimate, engaging portraits.

—
“Turning Point” is an occasional series featuring images by young photographers. The column was conceived by the 26-year-old photographer Amanda Rivkin.

Previous Turning Point Columns:

Wednesday, Aug. 4
Amanda Rivkin, 26.
Inspired by Dorothea Lange.

Wednesday, Aug. 11
Aga Luczakowska, 29.
Inspired by Stanley Greene.

Wednesday, Aug. 18
Robert Caplin, 27.
Inspired by David Alan Harvey.

Wednesday, Aug. 25
Yana Paskova, 28.
Inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Wednesday, Sept. 1
Ayman Oghanna, 25.
Inspired by Alex Webb.

Wednesday, Sept. 8
Newsha Tavakolian, 29.
Inspired by Naser al-Din, the shah of Iran (1848-96).

Wednesday, Sept. 15
Maja Hitij, 26.
Inspired by Kevin Carter.

Wednesday, Sept. 22
Ed Ou, 23.
Inspired by Finbarr O’Reilly