The photograph titled “Willie Cooper” by artist Emmet Gowin was captured in Danville, Virginia. The image depicts an elder man leaning on the window frame of a car’s open door. The man looks directly at the camera with a relaxed, maybe contemplative expression. The photograph is monochromatic, lending it a timeless quality.
Taken from inside the car, the photograph offers a fish-eye perspective, curving the edges of the environment around the central figure of the man. The backdrop features a residential setting with a house that has a porch, suggesting a serene neighborhood. The curvature of the lens distortion adds a dynamic element to the composition, engaging the viewer with its unique viewpoint.