Tancho Line & Form in Motion

The red-crowned cranes, affectionately known as tancho (full name: tanchōzuru) by the Japanese, are sometimes called “snow ballerinas” as they gather at winter feeding sanctuaries and dance with one another on winter days. I chose to emphasise the cranes’ beauty in motion by accentuating their lines and reducing micro contrast, in effect, relatively emptying spaces of detail to enhance the abstract elements of tone and form. It is a slight nod to the aesthetics of Japanese woodblock prints of the 19th century.