Face to face

by The Raw World Atlas

A dragonfly stares straight into the camera. Two large, copper-coloured eyes, a yellow face, slender black legs clinging to the cross-section of a green stem, and four wings spread flat out to either side, every vein visible against the light. Behind it, only the tip of the red abdomen protrudes above the body. The background fades into a soft green; nothing distracts the eye.

This is a red dragonfly, one of the species known in Japan as a familiar sign of late summer and called ‘Aka-tombo’ there. It was photographed in the Hokkaido University Botanical Garden in Sapporo. Founded in 1886, it is the second-oldest botanical garden in Japan and preserves a piece of the landscape that existed here before the city grew up around it.

The symmetry defines the image: a frontal pose, the wings spread like a frame, the eyes precisely in the centre. In landscape format, it is perfect for a study, a child’s bedroom, the living area or anywhere else where a strong, close-up motif is desired. The palette of warm orange and red against fresh green harmonises with natural materials and light-coloured rooms. Printed on matt fine art paper, the delicate mesh of the wings and the texture of the eyes are shown in full detail.