25 Of The Most Captivating Portraits As Selected By AAP Magazine

"Frances was one of the first people I met on the farm with whom I didn’t already have a long-standing relationship. She welcomed me into her home, and we became good friends. I would go back to visit her often and photograph her many times. This is one of the few portraits I made of her using my tripod. When I looked at the film later, I realized the baby couldn’t hold still. From an outsider’s perspective, it may seem strange to make a formal portrait of someone in their bra, but it was normal for women on the farm to dress this way in their homes. The Arkansas heat and humidity led us to seek comfort any way we could. I ended up photographing many women this way."

"Samba Soknhna Ba, Ferlo Desert, Senegal, 2023; The pastoralists in the Ferlo Desert are an important example of people's ability to adapt to extreme conditions and the importance of tradition and culture in a changing world. Although they face many challenges, they continue to live their lives and maintain their unique way of life."

"The Hammock from the series, 'The Lost Years', the years that most adults can't remember before the age of seven-years-old."

"'As I See It' comprises portraits that attempt to duplicate what my brain is seeing, as opposed to what my eyes see. With this project, I’m looking at the human face as the starting point. I then try to see that face as my brain would, putting the most important features in the foreground, and bringing the least important to the background. From what I’ve read, the brain quickly sizes up a new face into just a few categories: 1) Will it hurt me? 2) Will it eat me? 3) Will it love me? The “sizing up” occurs before I can consciously register it."

"That day, I decided to lock myself in the dark, alone in front of my mirror. My wish is to think outside the box and get original portraits straight from the camera. Camera in black and white with hi contrast mode, a light behind me, and a few drops of water well lit. Then much patience to find the right shutter speed, fair exposure compensation and the right movements to follow. Here, a powerful rendering, dark, confusing, frightening, and poetic, .. everyone be free to interpret them as he wishes. Virtually no post-processing, just cropping, an adjustment of shadows and whites."