One of the reasons Helmut Newton’s fashion photographs merit acclaim is that they succinctly capture moments that reflect a greater human experience. Every person I know has a different favorite, meaning each image emits a unique humanity that appeals to a certain set of interests, experiences and beliefs.

I came to this realization in 2006 (two years after the photographer’s death) when I was in Milan for Newton’s “Sex and Landscapes” exhibit at Palazzo Reale. Here, I discovered an image of a desolate desert scene sparsely populated by a mobile home, palm trees and a nearly-nude blond in cowboy boots. The staging, the model and the moment perfectly captured the sun-bleached melancholy of Southern California.

The image has haunted me since. I want to own it and live it, but I have been unable to find it (even in the exhibition book), which leads me to believe that it may not resound with others in the same way. They, perhaps, favor the iconic shot of Catherine Denueve being held at gunpoint. But no matter the viewer’s preference, the work elicits an opinion, a fact that—in and of itself—evidences the photographer’s central influence on fashion editorial.

A number of his contributions can be viewed now at the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin, which is staging an exhibition to commemorate the 10th anniversary of SUMO, a 464-page limited-edition tomb of Newton’s work. Obviously, I would love to visit the show and continue my search for the despondent cowgirl from Pasadena but in lieu of this, I’ll purchase the reduced-size edition of the book that Taschen will release in September, and share with you the below images. They are yet another example of Newton’s amazing ability to layer a scene with raw emotion.

From Left to Right: Florence by Helmut Newton.

The man.