Kingdom Shadows, 2020

Are shadows artifacts? Reality or fleeting fantasy? Or are they simply integral to the objects that cast them? From the photographer’s perspective, every object “owns” infinite shadows each defined by the particulars of the incident light. Often, the selection of the “right” shadow can make or break the photograph. Here, in Kingdom Shadows, the subjects (chess pieces and their integral shadows) are placed mid-frame, with the chess pieces to the side, to emphasize how integral the shadow is to the subject.

Hand-turned chess pieces on white matte paper were shot at f/36 and 1/360 sec with a strobe delivered through a narrow “snoot” to provide definition to the shadow; Hasselblad H6D-100c 100 MPx camera with the HC120 (120mm) macro lens.

“No matter if you're born
To play the king or pawn
For the line is thinly drawn 'tween joy and sorrow
So my fantasy becomes reality
And I must be what I must be and face tomorrow”

Simon and Garfunkel, 1966