Humming Bird by Kelli L. Pennington

Kelli L. Pennington writes:

My practice uses the snapshot aesthetic to engage desire and intimacy. By photographing my friends, family, lover, and myself, I want to mirror the experiences of tenderness, cruelty, and love directly and with limited mediation.

There is certainly something both tender and cruel, sad and beautiful, and despite Kelli's role as a passive mediator, surreal about this photograph. While the moments when the animal and human worlds collide, most often to the detriment of the former, are fairly common, they often feel out of the ordinary. The power that we wield over the animal kingdom is tangible and the fragility of birds and beasts evident. It can be heartbreaking.

The shirtless subject in Pennington's photo is rendered softly, obscured by the reflections of trees and clouds; the empathy she feels for both the hummingbird and captor is palpable. On her website, Penningon's woven formal and casual portraits with landscapes, fluidly moving from one to the other — it's elegant everyday drama.