A black-and-white photograph of a meadow, where scattered a few sheep stand curiously watching. The animals are white patches against the dark grass, their shapes soft but recognisable. Some look up, others stand with their heads down, engrossed in the rhythm of eating, ruminating, moving on.
The sky above is heavy or perhaps empty - without colour it is hard to tell, and that is precisely the power of the image. Light and shadow draw the landscape in austere planes. The grass appears almost silver-grey, the sky an even plane or full of clouds, depending on the light falling on it.
There is no action, no distraction. Just a field, a few sheep, and time that seems to stand still for a moment. The composition is simple, almost classical, and powerful for that very reason.
The absence of colour makes the textures more important: the wooliness of the fleeces, the uneven grass, the faint outline of a fence or a tree line in the background.
This photograph does not tell a story in the traditional sense. It is a moment that simply ís. Rural, quiet, unadorned.
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I'm Karen, Photographer and artist...
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