Central Park
14th Julia Margaret Cameron Awards, Wildlife Category Winner, Jurors: Elizabeth Avedon, Rebecca Robertson, Analy Werbin
Exhibited: FotoNostrum Gallery, Barcelona, Spain
MORE FROM THE SERIES, Exhibited: Blank Wall Gallery, Athens, Greece
CRANES’S CATCH
Crane’s Catch is the result of a season-long vigil in Central Park, capturing a moment of raw, predatory grace. While the subject is a Great Egret, the title is an intentional homage to the Japanese crane—a monumental symbol of longevity and good fortune.
My aesthetic perspective was quietly shaped by my time living and working in the Japanese fashion industry during the 1990s. Immersed in a culture that treats both high-design and the natural world with ritualistic precision, I developed a “maximalist” appreciation for the dramatic silhouette and the cinematic moment. I spent an entire summer in Central Park documenting this bird across shifting seasons, drawn to an elegance that mirrored the avant-garde lines and disciplined compositions I encountered during my time in Tokyo.
This specific “catch”—the explosive spray of water and the predatory precision—was a gift of serendipity, captured during a moment of meditative observance. To me, this image represents the intersection of my history and the present: the disciplined eye meeting the wild, mythic pulse of the city’s heart.
This first image above was honored as a Wildlife Category winner at the 14th Julia Margaret Cameron Awards and exhibited at the FotoNostrum Gallery in Barcelona, Spain. The second image was exhibited at Blank Wall Gallery, Athens, Greece.