This is generally known as a high-key image, and although there are some darks due to my playing with the contrast, the general feeling is of light and lightness, often producing a beautiful, ethereal effect.

The white which has totally whited out is actually a building with light walls, as you can see from the window arch which frames the subject. The angle's optional of course, but you know what I think about them, so there it is again!

The placing of the subject is slightly off to the right, as it should be, but leads back to the centre (and down) because of the angle, and what would be a rather empty left-third has the hint of what is the statue's shoulder, which balances and echoes somewhat the other compositional element, the arch, which is more to the right, much bigger but paler, so I think it works.

For me, a large part of photography is creating links between the elements in the shot to try and create some sort of story. A small dark arch is the equivalent of a large pale one, for example, and creates a kind of harmony and balance. I try to make static elements look as though they are somehow interacting with the people who pass them by, for example.