The Seventh Seal was photographed in Japan while I was leading a wildlife photography workshop. We were photographing Steller’s sea eagles in winter conditions, with strong winds and blowing snow creating an already dramatic environment. I was, of course, deliberately photographing the eagle, but what makes this particular image special was completely unexpected. It was only when looking at the photograph afterwards that I saw what appeared to be a ghostly figure riding on the back of the eagle. Even the two tiny points that look like eyes are simply snowflakes caught in exactly the right place at exactly the right moment. Sometimes wildlife photography rewards preparation and patience, and sometimes nature simply gives you something you could never have planned.
Photographing eagles in these conditions is challenging. Everything is moving: the bird, the wings, the snow and often the photographer as well. My attention at the time was on following the eagle and capturing the movement and energy of the scene. The composition was therefore largely instinctive. I wanted enough space around the eagle for the blowing snow and landscape to remain part of the photograph rather than isolating the bird too tightly. The movement of the wings and legs also gives the image an almost chaotic quality, which I think works particularly well here. The strange figure on the eagle's back was not something I saw through the viewfinder. It is purely the result of the position of the wings, feathers, snow and light at that fraction of a second. A moment earlier or later and it would not have existed. I don't really have any regrets about the photograph. Its imperfections and unpredictability are part of what makes it interesting to me.
The main decision in post-processing was to convert the image to black and white. Colour didn't add anything that I felt the photograph needed, and removing it immediately strengthened the shapes, movement and atmosphere. From there, the processing was relatively restrained. I adjusted the tones and contrast slightly to create a darker and more dramatic mood, while keeping the snow and the textures visible. I didn't create or manipulate the ghost-like figure in any way. What you see was already there in the original photograph. For me, the post-processing was about revealing the atmosphere that I felt was already present rather than adding something that wasn't there. The final black-and-white treatment also helped give the image its slightly surreal and unsettling quality, which ultimately led me to the title The Seventh Seal.
