Jessica Dimmock’s Take on the Essence of Photography

Documentary photographer Jessica Dimmock says she’s a bit of a messy photographer looking for a bit of chaos and electricity in her work. Best known for her work on the lives of a group of young heroin users for three years, titled The Ninth Floor, Dimmock’s stunning images bring the viewers close to her subjects.

In our latest First Take video, TIME speaks with Dimmock on what she looks for in a photograph. “I think what I love in other people’s photography is when I’m transported into a world that I probably wouldn’t have had access to,” she says. “And yet I know what goes beyond the frame of that photograph.”

To hear more about Dimmock’s take, watch the video above.

Jessica Dimmock is a documentary photographer and filmmaker based in New York City.

First Take is an ongoing video series curated by TIME’s photography editors. See the previous videos here.