By Ben Hamey. I met this monk on a train in Kanchanaburi, he was really proud to show me a picture of himself in the book he is holding up (he is bottom left). (First winner for Image Review 3 Competition.)
Fuji X100S, 23mm, 1/140s, f/4, ISO 800
Don’s response
Ben Hamey’s “Monk” is one of those images that was just meant to be rendered in luminous black and white. Without the distraction of colour, the viewer is drawn straight into this timeless and slightly mysterious scene by the Monk’s quietly intense expression as he holds up the opened book to the camera.
Having read the caption, we know what he’s doing and why, but this is one of those cases where not knowing the back story might have allowed greater scope for the imagination. That said, it isn’t as though there aren’t still intriguing elements to the composition; the covered figure top right looking out on what we might guess from the window left is a rainy platform crowded with umbrella-ed stalls.
A fine composition, beautifully rendered.
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