A snowy day on the top of Belgium (Botrange). This region is famous for the vast expanses of swampy moors and I was walking in the fields to take some pictures of the landscape, but he weather was very bad. I went back to the deserted road. At the only bus stop, far from any village, a lady was waiting and she seemed frozen, prisoner of time/weather (in french, the same word). Fortunately, the bus was on time!
But it was a bit surreal to see her alone in the middle of this white desert. To make her seem a prisoner of her waiting, I closed the view to the left by the bus stop, below by a small bridge that spans a ditch and an oblique branch whose umbrella seems to protect itself.
To prevent the snow from staining the lens, I had to place myself in the ditch and back. All this time, she remained like a statue staring at the point where the bus was supposed to arrive and didn’t seem to see me all this time (300mm lens helped me).
I really like this photo because of the feeling of solitude it gives and by its graphics; it’s almost close to minimalism.
Obviously, B/W works very well for this scene in which the lady was dressed in black. The square format seems also well suited to me: this format also makes us think of a box in which the character would be locked. This is the format that best corresponds to the title of the photo.
In short, the feeling of confinement is caused: by the pose of the character, by the geometry of the scene, by the square format, but also by the snow that falls to large flakes increasing the discomfort of the scene.
What do you think are the TWO most impactful features that make your image a good photograph? Don’t be shy!
- B/W contrast
- geometric environment.
If you would be able to make this photo once again, what would be the ONE thing you would like to do better or different?
I would remove the branch on the left (below).
Jean Fraipont shared this photograph in the FRAMES Facebook Group.
Photographer
Jean Fraipont, Nivelles, Belgium
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Leo Delcourte
March 24, 2022 at 18:46
I like the atmosphere in the photograph. Nice work.
I agree with you that the branch on the bottom left should better be removed.