"Galadriel's Test"

"Galadriel's Test"

2021

She stood before Frodo seeming now tall beyond measurement, and beautiful beyond enduring, terrible and worshipful.

-"The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring", by J.R.R. Tolkien

A small (albeit very memorable) moment in LotR, yet perhaps the single, most important, defining moment in the whole of Galadriel's storyline; where everything she has ever dreamed off comes within her grasp, and she resists the temptation and accepts her own diminishment.

"Minds the Dead Have Ravished"

2018

These are men whose minds the Dead have ravished. Memory fingers in their hair of murders, Multitudinous murders they once witnessed.

-"Mental Cases", by Wilfred Owen

I did this series inspired by shell shocked soldiers of the First World War back in 2018, in time for the 100th anniversary of the armistice. Let us all strive to live in a world free of the ravages of imperialism and war.

"Leak"

2021

A tribute to Will McBride and his "Salem Suite" photo series.

"Bygone Strength"

2021

Study of an early 20th century athlete. 

"Guardian of the Alps"

2021

Alpine Ibex (Capra ibex)

"The Bridge of Khazad-dûm"

2021

...suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall; but still Gandalf could be seen, glimmering in the gloom; he seemed small, and altogether alone: grey and bent, like a wizened tree before the onset of a storm.

-"The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring", by J.R.R. Tolkien

Behold! Unarguably the most iconic scene in the whole of the Lord of the Rings: Gandalf the Grey's battle against the Balrog of Morgoth upon the Bridge of Khazad-dûm.

This scene embodies everything that makes the fantasy genre great. It's a classic, mythical clash of good and evil, a confrontation between magical equals (more or less) of opposing sides. Yet Gandalf, alone on the bridge, appears to be small and weak against the monstrous power of the Balrog. At the same time it's this contrast that makes Gandalf's stand all the more courageous, and it's through his bravery that his inner power is revealed and matches that of his seemingly greater enemy.

Long before Game of Thrones this scene also provides with a devastating plot twist, when Gandalf, after having cast down the Balrog, gets dragged into the abyss with it. At the time I first watched it as a kid, I don't think I've ever felt as shocked by any film I had watched since. Already kind of bummed that my favorite villains (the Nazgûl) had been seemingly destroyed, I was completely out of words to watch my favorite hero perish too. I remember having doubts at this point on wether I liked a film that killed off all of my favorite people, but I was undeniably very involved in the story indeed.

It's easy to overlook the significance of Gandalf's sacrifice because of his later return. But at this time he was not only laying down his life for the Company, he was also sacrificing any hope of personal success in his mission on Middle-earth. With his demise the Order of the Istari would have effectively failed. His last stand at the bridge was a very courageous act of self-sacrifice and of faith in his comrades to carry on the struggle after his passing... and given his divine nature and his commitment to the cause entrusted to him, that sacrifice and that faith would be rewarded.