Henri Prestes
BY HENRI PRESTES
This photo was taken on the Portuguese mountain region called Serra da Estrela. On this day I had driven up there with hopes to find some snowfall, which in Portugal is not a usual experience. For my disappointment the day had turned out with a clear sky and very sunny but I still kept roaming around for a few hours, and suddenly as I reached the top of this small secluded village it started snowing heavily, with strong gusts of wind; it felt like a beginning of a snow storm and I knew I had to capture that moment. As was I setting up the shot, the sun started to appear creating some interesting lighting on the ground, and I tried to frame the figure in a way that conveyed a possible story that was going on—I really enjoy aiming for that cinematic feel, especially in combination with harsh weather conditions which I find can another layer to the emotion of a photo. I grew up near this region and it's microclimate makes it a very unique place to explore during winter—I usually make it a goal to visit every year and I end up finding surprising scenes every time.
