Catchlight

There was so little light in the Great Bear Rainforest when I made this photograph. I watched a sliver of sun sketch the curve of your shoulder, catch the rim of an ear, then pick out the bridge of your nose. The rest of you stayed in shadow.

That’s what I love about a single key light. Following those few bright edges, my eye fills in the weight of your body. I exposed for the highlights, letting the forest around you fall into darkness.

Then the salmon flicked its tail. For a fraction of a second, the light caught the fin and turned it gold. I’d been watching the light trace the outline of a bear. I pressed the shutter for the smallest movement in the frame.