Arts Design

THE MAGNIFICENT TEXTURE OF FEATHERS NOW

THOMAS LOHR

Feathers offer us some of the most beautiful and luxurious textures to behold. German fashion photographer Thomas Lohr captures their glory in a series of magnificent fine art photos, as a personal project.

His approach is unusual, focusing in closely, with tight cropping, creating masterfully lit abstractions, while, at the same time, making the textures seem almost palpable.

While birds initially developed feathers for functional advantage, assisting their flight and offering insulation against the elements, they next leveraged their plumage for sex appeal, with bright colors and elaborate flourish.

Whether for form, function, or pure aesthetics, the texture of feathers is intoxicating.

Lohr aimed to capture a wide variety of bird species, with an array of plumage textures and color. He found his subjects by traveling to bird parks and menageries all over Europe.

Zooming in, Lohr gets us up close to the tender pink curls of flamingo feathers and the bright tangerine wings of the Sun Parakeet.

Check out the iridescent layered texture of the Sarkidiornis Melanotos Sylvicola, the black fringed Balearica Regulorum, and the fluffy fur like Tauraco Erythrolophus.

His two favourite images are of the frilled soft gray and white ombréed Grus Monacha and angelic white Pelecanus Crispus.

Lohr’s stunning new limited edition book, Birds, adds further textural grandeur. His feather images are printed on Japanese paper and beautifully bound in a white, velvety reverse-embossed cover.

For another view of Lohr’s beautiful approach to texture, check out his high-profile fashion shoots in publications such as Vogue, The Wall Street Journal, Muse, and Le Monde d’Hermès.

Read more about Beautiful Textures, as it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact including The Beauty & Necessity of Texture Now, The Science & Beauty of Texture Now and Exotic Delicious Textures Now.

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