Eared grebe courtship
Grand-Laviers, France · 2022
From 195 €
Limited edition of twenty prints, all sizes and materials combined. Each print is signed, numbered and delivered with a certificate of authenticity.
Choose your print
My advice for this photo
- Material
- Fine art paper · matt cotton
- Framing
- Classic frame · White · up to Large
Two grebes face to face on calm water: matt cotton paper renders the water soft and free of reflections, so the birds stand out on their own.
- Made to order: usually two to three weeks in mainland France and Europe
- Signed-for Colissimo delivery or, depending on the country, a pickup point; courier for Large and Extra large sizes and some framed prints
- Fourteen days to change your mind
- Card, SEPA Direct Debit, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Link or PayPal
Another size or material? Ask for a quote →
The story behind the photo
Two black-necked grebes facing each other on open water in spring, necks straight, crests raised, at the moment when the display stops being a chase and becomes a conversation. The composition is almost symmetrical, and deliberately so: two birds, two reflections, one narrow strip of ruffled water. What breaks the symmetry is the small difference between the two postures, and that difference is the whole picture.
I worked at water level, because a grebe seen from above is a bird on a lake and a grebe seen from its own height is a bird in a world. The horizon is excluded. Nothing in the frame tells you how large the water is, which leaves the two animals in the kind of emptiness their ritual seems to require.
The light is flat and slightly cold, coming off the water as much as from the sky, and it does what no golden hour could have done here: it lets the golden ear fans and the chestnut flanks read at their true intensity instead of drowning them in a warm cast.
Courtship in grebes is not romantic; it is precise. Every posture answers another, and the birds appear to be checking the answers. I wanted the photograph to hold that attentiveness, two creatures listening very carefully to one another, and to keep absolutely everything else out of the frame.
- Location
- Grand-Laviers, France
- Date
- 2022
- Gallery
- Wildlife
Sizes and prices
| Size | Fine art paper | Aluminium Dibond | Acrylic glass |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small40 × 30 cm | 195 € | 300 € | 425 € |
| Medium60 × 45 cm | 275 € | 450 € | 640 € |
| Large80 × 60 cm | 440 € | 670 € | 1 010 € |
| Extra large120 × 90 cm | 580 € | 900 € | 1 470 € |
Price of the print alone, without frame, VAT included. Print dimensions in centimetres; a frame makes them larger.
Materials
Hahnemühle fine art papers (Photo Rag, Museum Etching, Fine Art Baryta…), chosen for each photograph.
Print mounted on 3 mm aluminium Dibond: rigid, light, no glazing.
Print set between 3 mm Dibond and an acrylic sheet: richer colour and depth, resistant to UV and humidity.
Framing, optional
For paper prints: white mount and Plexiglas glazing, museum glass optional. The mount puts space between the photo and the frame: a classic, understated look that draws the eye to the image.
For aluminium and acrylic, black or white. A narrow gap separates the photo from the moulding: it seems to hang suspended inside its frame, for a contemporary look.
For aluminium and acrylic: an aluminium structure fixed to the back, invisible once hung. The photo seems to rest on the wall, slightly set off from it.
Delivery and returns
Signed-for delivery by Colissimo or, depending on the country, to a pickup point; signed-for delivery by courier for Large and Extra large sizes and some framed prints. Usually two to three weeks in mainland France and Europe, thirty to forty-five days for the French overseas territories and other countries.
Read article 9 of the Terms and Conditions →Fourteen days from receipt to change your mind, except for a print made to a special request. Returns are at your expense.
Read article 10 of the Terms and Conditions →Card, SEPA Direct Debit, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Link or PayPal. The print is made once payment has been received.
Read article 8 of the Terms and Conditions →Lead times, delivery, payment, returns: the answers are in the frequently asked questions. For another size, another material or advice on hanging, write to me.
Read the frequently asked questions →Contact me →
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