"I saw this shadow and immediately thought of a backbone. I thought it would be great to put myself underneath so the shadow would match my dorsal spine.

I took my camera, tripod and remote and rushed to the plants. Getting fully naked was not possible as it is a common patio for the whole building, even though that was my first idea. So I took off my top and lay on the floor. My boyfriend was watching in case any neighbours passed by so I could quickly get dressed again if I needed to. I know some people would find it very weird to get half naked 'just to take a picture' in a public space, so I prefer to avoid this situation and the 'you're crazy' look whenever possible!

On a more technical side, I faced the usual self-portrait challenges. It took me time to find the right pose and focus. Another challenge was the sky - it was cloudy so sometimes I had to wait until the shadow was harsh enough to get the sought-after effect.

In my work I am very attracted to and inspired by natural elements, and the idea of nature as a soul-healing place. Usually I love to shoot outside (when the weather allows it, as I live in Brussels)- in this case it was a beautiful natural element in a house. I also love to question the relationship between human beings and nature, not as opposites but as a complementary relationship. In this shadow I really saw a skeletal shape - very human, not vegetal - and thought of the resemblances between human and nature.

The post-processing on this image was quite simple. I added some texture because it allows the photograph to look more like a painting, and gives it a timeless feeling. I also desaturated the image as the floor was very red and it distracted the viewer from the main focus. I also like the desaturated look as it looks a little like earth, with the same brown tones. I added some contrast, playing with dodge and burn to have better control of the light."

You can see more of Amélie's work <a href="http://amelieberton.com" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ameliebertonphotographer" target="_blank">here</a>,  <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/amelieberton/" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="https://instagram.com/ameliebertonphotography/" target="_blank">here</a>.

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My Vegetal Spine

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