Steven Gelberg's artist

This photo was taken by Steven Gelberg and to me is a very soft and peaceful portrait. When searching for a photo this one caught my eye because the subject appears to be drawing, an art all her own, while the photographer snaps a shot of her, his art. Yet, then as i began to research the photographer I became more interested in the photo. Gelberg's work spoke to me more not because of the quality of his prints but because of his own life story and the auto biography on his website in which i could connect to because he is a lot like me in some aspects.

He was born in post war suburbia and was once a nature seeker much like myself. He then became a Vietnam war protester and what he calls himself a "counterculture rebel". After one year of college he became a world transcending Hindu monk then 17 years later went to Harvard Divinity school to study comparative religion then in 1994 photography answered his prayers and set a new path in life for him. Photography became his passion and much like myself he fell in love with the dark room and the energy that comes along with it. I believe that imagination comes through in the photographs you make with your hands, and with the chemicals that make images magically appear. Photography was his self discovery, I believe this is true for me also.

Gelberg's photo of a woman sitting in what appears to be a train station caught my eye mainly because of the looking glass and mirror effect of two artists seeing the world in different perspectives. This is a successful photograph for many reasons. First of all the subject clearly is at ease yet still nervous about maybe the person she is drawing. Also the position of her arm and tablet leave much to be wondered about. There is a sense of mystery because we cannot see what she is drawing, also there is a great tonal range that allows us to see her facial expression which leads to many more questions?