LA-based photographer Catherine Opie (an inspiration to countless photographers) is best known

LA-based photographer Catherine Opie (an inspiration to countless photographers) is best known for her groundbreaking documentation of sub-cultures, and her powerful self-mutilation photographs. The works on view in her upcoming show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), however, signal a departure in subject, depicting the all-American high-school football player. Shot everywhere from Alaska to Louisiana, her poignant portraits address masculinity, youth, the power of the body, and national identity. Here Opie photographs her good friend Jenny Shimizu.