18 -- The Boy : IMAGE 180 : Back In Town

Having acquired new clothes, The Boy feels he can return to the city to see The Girl—apart now more than four years. The moment he presses the doorbell of her apartment is fraught with suspense, even while, as readers, we know, The Girl has moved away. We await the moment of his disappointment with a sense of helplessness, and perhaps voyeuristic curiosity. Here, the limited space of the small image achieves the cinematic effect of ‘close cropping,’ insisting that we confront the moment head-on. There is no extraneous detail to distract or placate us.

Note that the tension of the moment is further conveyed in the image’s wavy, jittery, outline, and jagged edges, suggestive of trepidation and unavoidable pain.