Kousa Dogwood, 2025

By Alessandra Chaves

A black and white photograph of a Kousa dogwood distills the flower to its essential form—petals rendered in soft gradients, their edges glowing against a darker canopy. Without color, the eye lingers on texture: the delicate veining of each bract, the clustered geometry at the center, the subtle contrast between smooth blossoms and rough bark. Light becomes the subject as much as the flower itself, tracing quiet transitions from shadow to highlight, giving the image a calm, almost contemplative stillness.