MB

Series

Shadow

Animals held in near-darkness, where a single light decides how much of a body we are allowed to see.

36 plates
Plumage Unfolded — A greater flamingo turns to preen and the raised wing opens like a fan of coral and white. Expand

Plate I

Plumage Unfolded

A greater flamingo turns to preen and the raised wing opens like a fan of coral and white.

Shadow
Standing Curve — The whole body reduced to one line — neck, breast and legs held in a single fall of light. Expand

Plate II

Standing Curve

The whole body reduced to one line — neck, breast and legs held in a single fall of light.

Shadow
Head Beneath the Wing — Folded into its own flank, the bird becomes an anatomy of feathers rather than a face. Expand

Plate III

Head Beneath the Wing

Folded into its own flank, the bird becomes an anatomy of feathers rather than a face.

Shadow
Study in White — Wing coverts catch what little light there is; the rest of the body is left in the dark. Expand

Plate IV

Study in White

Wing coverts catch what little light there is; the rest of the body is left in the dark.

Shadow
At Rest — A flamingo settles low, red and charcoal feathering running the full width of the frame. Expand

Plate V

At Rest

A flamingo settles low, red and charcoal feathering running the full width of the frame.

Shadow
Written in Light — Only a rim of light survives — the neck drawn as a single stroke against the black. Expand

Plate VI

Written in Light

Only a rim of light survives — the neck drawn as a single stroke against the black.

Shadow
Lowered to the Water — The head reaches down to feed, bill inverted, one lit eye holding the centre of the picture. Expand

Plate VII

Lowered to the Water

The head reaches down to feed, bill inverted, one lit eye holding the centre of the picture.

Shadow
The Colony — A crowd of necks and bills packed edge to edge, individual birds dissolving into pattern. Expand

Plate VIII

The Colony

A crowd of necks and bills packed edge to edge, individual birds dissolving into pattern.

Shadow
Among the Resting — One bird stands while the flock sleeps around it, bodies overlapping into a low white drift. Expand

Plate IX

Among the Resting

One bird stands while the flock sleeps around it, bodies overlapping into a low white drift.

Shadow
The Arc — A wing opens to its full span, the leading edge burning orange where the light strikes it. Expand

Plate X

The Arc

A wing opens to its full span, the leading edge burning orange where the light strikes it.

Shadow
Distant Company — Seen from far off, a whole flock reduces to a narrow band of pale marks in an empty field. Expand

Plate XI

Distant Company

Seen from far off, a whole flock reduces to a narrow band of pale marks in an empty field.

Shadow
Plumb Line — Legs, neck and bill fall into one vertical, with no ground offered to stand on. Expand

Plate XII

Plumb Line

Legs, neck and bill fall into one vertical, with no ground offered to stand on.

Shadow
The Bow — The body folds forward until the head is very nearly lost in the breast feathers. Expand

Plate XIII

The Bow

The body folds forward until the head is very nearly lost in the breast feathers.

Shadow
Water Thrown — Wings open at the moment of lift, a scatter of droplets caught in the air beneath. Expand

Plate XIV

Water Thrown

Wings open at the moment of lift, a scatter of droplets caught in the air beneath.

Shadow
Coverts — Close in on the wing: red primaries laid over white like tiles on a roof. Expand

Plate XV

Coverts

Close in on the wing: red primaries laid over white like tiles on a roof.

Shadow
Turned Away — The bird faces into the dark; only the back and the length of one red leg are given to us. Expand

Plate XVI

Turned Away

The bird faces into the dark; only the back and the length of one red leg are given to us.

Shadow
Three Lines — Two legs and a neck and almost nothing else — the picture kept to the edge of legibility. Expand

Plate XVII

Three Lines

Two legs and a neck and almost nothing else — the picture kept to the edge of legibility.

Shadow
Gold Water — A single silhouette wades through a surface broken into hundreds of points of light. Expand

Plate XVIII

Gold Water

A single silhouette wades through a surface broken into hundreds of points of light.

Shadow
The Crown — A stag's antlers emerge from complete darkness while the animal beneath them stays hidden. Expand

Plate XIX

The Crown

A stag's antlers emerge from complete darkness while the animal beneath them stays hidden.

Shadow
Lowered Head — Antlers swept back and head dropped, the whole weight of the animal implied in shadow. Expand

Plate XX

Lowered Head

Antlers swept back and head dropped, the whole weight of the animal implied in shadow.

Shadow
The Muzzle — Close enough to read the wet of the nose and the coarse winter coat around the eye. Expand

Plate XXI

The Muzzle

Close enough to read the wet of the nose and the coarse winter coat around the eye.

Shadow
Post and Reflection — A cormorant holds a stake above black water ruled by thin bands of reflected light. Expand

Plate XXII

Post and Reflection

A cormorant holds a stake above black water ruled by thin bands of reflected light.

Shadow
Three Egrets — Necks cross and overlap until it is no longer clear where one bird ends and the next begins. Expand

Plate XXIII

Three Egrets

Necks cross and overlap until it is no longer clear where one bird ends and the next begins.

Shadow
Roost — Egrets stacked on unseen branches, each body a separate white shape hung in the dark. Expand

Plate XXIV

Roost

Egrets stacked on unseen branches, each body a separate white shape hung in the dark.

Shadow
Wing Over Stone — An egret preens on a rock, the raised wing catching a narrow shaft of sun. Expand

Plate XXV

Wing Over Stone

An egret preens on a rock, the raised wing catching a narrow shaft of sun.

Shadow
Face to Face — A beetle meets the lens head-on, mouthparts and eyes lit against a field of red. Expand

Plate XXVI

Face to Face

A beetle meets the lens head-on, mouthparts and eyes lit against a field of red.

Shadow
Veined Wings — A dragonfly at rest, the venation of the wings reading like drawing on tracing paper. Expand

Plate XXVII

Veined Wings

A dragonfly at rest, the venation of the wings reading like drawing on tracing paper.

Shadow
The Tendril — A damselfly balances on a dry curl of stem: two spirals, one living, one not. Expand

Plate XXVIII

The Tendril

A damselfly balances on a dry curl of stem: two spirals, one living, one not.

Shadow
Capped Heron — Cream plumage, a blue bill and one long trailing plume, picked out on a bare branch. Expand

Plate XXIX

Capped Heron

Cream plumage, a blue bill and one long trailing plume, picked out on a bare branch.

Shadow
The Mirror Line — The water surface splits a caiman's head exactly in two, an eye above and an eye below. Expand

Plate XXX

The Mirror Line

The water surface splits a caiman's head exactly in two, an eye above and an eye below.

Shadow
Surfacing — Almost nothing breaks the surface — a snout, an eye, and a thin seam of light on the water. Expand

Plate XXXI

Surfacing

Almost nothing breaks the surface — a snout, an eye, and a thin seam of light on the water.

Shadow
Afloat — The whole animal lies at the surface, its ridged back traced in gold from end to end. Expand

Plate XXXII

Afloat

The whole animal lies at the surface, its ridged back traced in gold from end to end.

Shadow
At Close Range — A hunting spider photographed near enough to resolve every hair on the carapace. Expand

Plate XXXIII

At Close Range

A hunting spider photographed near enough to resolve every hair on the carapace.

Shadow
The Wrapping — A spider stands over silk-bound prey, the web visible only where light snags on it. Expand

Plate XXXIV

The Wrapping

A spider stands over silk-bound prey, the web visible only where light snags on it.

Shadow
Two on a Stem — Two longwing butterflies hang from the same dry stem, wings held open like plates. Expand

Plate XXXV

Two on a Stem

Two longwing butterflies hang from the same dry stem, wings held open like plates.

Shadow
Inverted Sky — A heron on the shoreline, photographed so that the reflected sky becomes the ground. Expand

Plate XXXVI

Inverted Sky

A heron on the shoreline, photographed so that the reflected sky becomes the ground.

Shadow
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