The woman and the cat, Vietnam. Portrait photograph by Alexandre de Pommereau, finalist in the Shoot The Frame Portrait photography award, April 2024

Finalist Portrait · April 2024

The woman and the cat

This photo happened really by chance. I was waiting on the motorbike for my girlfriend. Parked near some houses and eating some dried fruits while this woman came out. She then talked to me in Vietnamese, which I didn't understand. I tried to propose her some fruits but she refused and seemed a little bit angry (I didn't think that she probably couldn't eat dried fruits because of her teeth). Anyway we kind of had an exchanged full of incomprehension but then she told me to come to her house, took out some small plastic seats, typical of Vietnam and gave me some of the local speciality cake. My girlfriend came back then and we sat down, silently next to her. Us eating the cake and her looking sometimes at us, sometimes far away. I asked her if I could take a picture, to which she said yes but without paying any attention to the camera. Contrary of the cat seating confortably in her arms.