National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017 Finalist
I asked Leah to cradle a dead Boobook owl killed by a car, and hold whatever thoughts came into her mind – then I asked her to look at the camera. She stared straight down the lens with an expression of resigned sadness and forceful grace. In hindsight, this first picture was all I needed to take. Animals are our witnesses. Even in death they offer us the opportunity for reimaging our often fraught relationship with the natural world. They are also a call to arms in the fight to save it.