On the bar terrace — Paris

Rue
Black-and-white terrace scene in Paris: a young dark-haired woman with long curly hair turns around, looking watchful, one hand drawn to her chest; in the blurred foreground, a man leans forward; behind her, seated patrons, small round tables, a phone and a glass of wine.

Everyone is looking elsewhere. The man in the foreground sinks into his phone, the couple at the back lean toward each other, and she, at the exact centre of the frame, turns around — lips parted, a hand drawn to her chest, her gaze pulled out of the picture by something we will never see. That off-frame is what holds the photograph: an ordinary Paris terrace, small round tables and a glass of wine, suddenly crossed by a worry she alone carries. The black and white strips away the anecdote; what remains is the instant suspended between alarm and its denial.