An albumen silver print cabinet card produced by J. A. McColl, whose imprint appears in script on the lower front of the mount along with the Brainerd, Minnesota location. The reverse carries a printed design identifying the photographer as J. A. McColl, Photographer, Brainerd, Minn., surrounded by an ornate border with Japonesque decorative elements including bamboo, dragonflies, and a small figure on a swing. The full-length portrait of an unidentified man posed against a painted winter backdrop is consistent with the late 1880s, a period when snowshoe clubs were active throughout Minnesota and the upper Midwest.

The subject stands in a three-quarter pose, his right arm resting over a large traditional wood-and-rawhide snowshoe held vertically at his side, its tail resting on the painted ground. He wears a heavy grey wool belted jacket with a small rectangular badge or ribbon pinned to the left chest bearing partially legible lettering, dark trousers tucked into low boots, and a dark pointed cap with a decorative metal pin or badge at the front. A full mustache and a composed, direct expression complete the portrait.

The painted studio backdrop depicts a winter landscape with bare trees, a snow-covered ground, a wagon wheel visible at the left, and dried vegetation at the right, a setting chosen to complement the subject's winter sporting equipment and attire. The chest badge and cap insignia suggest affiliation with an organized snowshoe club, which were common social and athletic organizations in Minnesota communities during this period.