Wanting to be more experimental and choose from the wider world of paintings to blend into photographs, I combined a painting I sourced through the Internet, The Threatened Swan by Jan Asselyn (17th cent), together with a very flexible nude model I shot in the Sussex countryside. I am enjoying how the Surreal Fashion series progresses; I am also becoming inspired by illustrations, continuing in my fascination for the way humans depict animals and creatures both real and mythical. That illustrational appeal came out in my final choice for monochrome here, having initially been torn between colour and b/w versions.
I have admired the way swans in particular play different roles in Tim Walker's work: as cutouts, as figurines, even as fashion hats. And then extending my research to swans in paintings, a bewildering amount of sexual images popped up. I later found out that they all allude to the Greek myth of 'Leda and the Swan'. Reading up on the story and sordid symbolism of the swan, I thought about how my own image could play a part in referencing the swan imagery of the Leda story together with the swan's other connotations: ballet, grace and elegance.
Amidst the editing, we very aptly had Sunday lunch at a pub called the Swan. I took my iPad so I could examine my first edited draft whilst eating my beef roast (with perfectly cooked vegetables may I add - and almost enough gravy), so I could examine the beginning of the image's shape and composition before progressing with the detail. I smiled when I went to the toilets and saw 'Pens' and 'Cobs' on the two doors, with bafflingly generic pictures of swans on each that gave no clue as to their sex, standing hesitant at first which to enter till I figured it out. So I learnt a new fact about swans that day, as well as about the myth of Leda.
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the june child, fridgeirsson, Swedish Goose, aldose Aberto Dominguez, and 271 other people added this photo to their favorites.
View 20 more comments
Carlos Robledo 11 months ago | reply
Muy buena imagen .
Excelente edición.
Saludos.
Alan McCord 11 months ago | reply
Cool story. Funky image.
Nick Mitha 11 months ago | reply
Amazing photo stream, really!
Cyberex 11 months ago | reply
I like this, very creative
Angel Moreno Orge 11 months ago | reply
!!! Fantástica !!!
Math Paul 11 months ago | reply
Impressive. Love the bw toning.
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Seen on your photo stream. (?)
leta_miller 11 months ago | reply
Amazing photo. I like the story of Leda and the Swan
sparrek 11 months ago | reply
Mesmerizing.....
Ida Pyl 11 months ago | reply
marvelous
RomantiQ 11 months ago | reply
Great!
~ LadyHawk ~ 11 months ago | reply
Stunning work!
Rebecca.Clare 11 months ago | reply
Absolutely incredible, great work
Persodan 11 months ago | reply
Incredible ...
Fokker82 10 months ago | reply
bellissima
Rob Johnstone 10 months ago | reply
simply fab!!!
APictureIsWorthAThousandsWords. 9 months ago | reply
Wow, I have your book and I think you're an amazing artist!
Zaheer Alam Kidvai 9 months ago | reply
Superbly beautiful!
Bobzer 8 months ago | reply
incredible; the skin tones are like alabaster, the composition simply beautiful
jutfotos 5 months ago | reply
WOW!
Araujo Santoyo 5 weeks ago | reply
i love it!
Your work has so much evolved since last time i saw it! congratullations