Phil Doherty took this photograph on a family walk in a Warwickshire woodland in 2020. It was near the end of the first lockdown, and Doherty, his wife, Lisa, and their two daughters, Lulu and Pearl, had taken the opportunity for a spot of rule-abiding recreation.
“We went to Oversley Wood and stopped by this rope swing. There was strong sunlight streaming through the leaves, creating pockets of brightness among the deep shadows of the trees,” Doherty says. “I’m always looking at light and shadow to create a strong image, and as Pearl was swinging back and forth, I noticed she would enter these pockets of light.”
Doherty used his Huawei P30 Pro to take the photo, overriding the automatic exposure setting. “If I exposed for the bright area of the scene, everything else would be very dark, if not black.” Later, he titled it … arl, a nod to seeing only part of his daughter.
“The photo works not because of the legs, but because of the absence of a body. There is mystery and it’s also possibly slightly disturbing.”
