This high-key monochrome portrait isolates the raptor against a stark void, stripping away context to focus entirely on the subject's regal presence. The lighting is masterfully soft, allowing the intricate patterns of the plumage to take center stage, creating a rich tapestry of grays and blacks.
The bird's pose wings spread in a protective mantle combined with its sharp, averted gaze, conveys a sense of latent power and alertness. The image succeeds not just as a wildlife document, but as a study in texture and form, transforming the feathers into a mesmerizing abstract landscape.
556 Images entered
142 Photographers
Brief
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**This contest is open to photographers ranked between 1 and 250 in this week’s <a href="https://www.photocrowd.com/photographer-community/">Leaderboard</a>.** The toning of photographic prints was a commonplace practise that lent a different colour to the print, usually either a brown/sepia or blue tone. It was also thought in most cases to improve the archival quality of the print. It worked by replacing the metallic silver in the print’s emulsion with a different silver compound, such as silver sulfide in the case of sepia toning. Nowadays of course a tone can be applied more straightforwardly, and with less potential health impacts, using our post processing software. It can be a fun way to play with your imagery and create a completely different look and feel. Images submitted to the contest must be black and white images that have had a single tone applied to the whole image.
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