Shot in Cape Town, 2022, with Thapelo M. There was no brief — just a window, late afternoon light, and the agreement to be still.
What came back was something neither of us planned. She holds something back in this image, and that’s what makes it work. There’s a weight behind the eyes that doesn’t perform for the camera. It just is.
I keep coming back to this photo. It changed how I think about portraits. The ones that stay with you aren’t the ones that give everything away — they’re the ones that keep something for themselves. The composition pulls south, like the whole frame is drawn toward the continent beneath her feet.
This image became a reference point for everything I shot after. Not because of the technical execution, but because of what it taught me about restraint. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is hold back.