Book two of my animal portrait book project. According to Merriam-Webster, an animal is any of a kingdom of living things including many-celled organisms and often many of the single-celled ones too. This is how I get to include butterflies, crabs, snails and frogs alongside turtles, iguanas, dolphins, seals, hippos, alligators and chickens. These I called bold creatures because there are so many great synonyms for the word "bold" that I think apply to all of this selection--intrepid, impudent, presumptuous, and assured. Creature is a little more delicate because we so often think of them as being scary--predators, aliens, monsters, things, specimen. They are bold in color, in shape and size, in their environment. Sometimes we have to look really closely to see them, or to catch them. Some make lots of noise, and others pass right by without a sound. Some entertain, and others, well, they are a mystery. And what do we do when we want to de-mystify these creatures, and make them less intimidating, more relatable? We make them into cartoons or stuffed animals, or we put pictures of them in a book for children alongside cute little poems. After all, who doesn't love the underdog and we're only afraid of the things we don't understand. And these bold creatures are begging for understanding. Would they have let me get this close otherwise? I think not.
We are bold, that is
fearless and adventurous,
We are daring and audacious,
We beings of anomolous
and uncertain aspect.
We are one of millions
born of a single common ancestor.
We are the same, yet we are
not ordinary;
We are the same, yet we are always
changing.
See more Bold Creatures on my Digital Photography and Art page.
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