Abiola Ogungbenle’s outstretched arms make this first-snow portrait wonderfully direct. Joseph Fryer photographed the moment in Hanover, Pennsylvania, on December 8, 2013, after Ogungbenle had moved from Nigeria.
A personal moment became a shared photograph
For Ogungbenle, the photograph had an audience before it became widely shared: his family in Nigeria. He wanted them to see the snowfall he had been looking forward to since moving to Pennsylvania. That small detail gives the portrait its emotional centre. It was a message home as well as a picture of the weather, showing a new place through the reaction of someone experiencing it for the first time.
Let the expression carry the story
The outstretched hands leave room for the falling flakes, and the smile supplies the rest of the story. There is no elaborate pose or scenic landmark competing for attention. Although online sharing later brought the image to strangers, the expression remains personal. The date, December 8, 2013, anchors the account: Ogungbenle’s age and recent move describe that winter, while the photograph preserves the delight of that particular afternoon.
Explore more: Kayden’s joyful encounter with rain; another photographer finding inspiration in weather.
The first winter after moving to Pennsylvania
Ogungbenle had moved to Hanover in August 2013 to be with his wife. His first snowfall arrived on December 8, a few months into life in Pennsylvania. Asking Fryer for a photograph gave him a way to share that new experience with family back in Nigeria.
A housemate was there at the right moment
Fryer, associated in the account with The Digital Lightbox, had been heading outside to photograph the weather. He encountered Ogungbenle enjoying it and captured the outstretched-arm portrait. The later Reddit sharing widened the audience, but did not create the delight seen in the image. The account’s ending, with the cold becoming noticeable after time spent playing, adds an ordinary human rhythm to the memorable first reaction.
Sources, photography and further reading
Original feature and image attributions:
- The Digital Lightbox
- “To meet somebody from a whole other country who has never seen snow at all except for on the TV and then seeing him experience it, really warmed my heart,"
- Huffington Post
- Snow Falls In Cairo For The First Time In More Than 100 Years
- Snow Blankets Eastern Mediterranean: Israel, Palestine, Syria, Cyprus and Lebanon
- Kayden’s joyful encounter with rain
- another photographer finding inspiration in weather
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