Flapjack the miniature schnauzer was the first dog Emma F Wright began walking. But what began as a favour for a friend turned into something of a second job, and now the Nottingham-based photographer follows the same route, under the Trent Bridge, several times a week with various local dogs.
“I’d noticed before that on rainy days, water from the road above would seep through and create a bit of a puddle in the same place. Schnauzers recognise and greet each other as if they’ve known them their whole life. On this day, I realised Flapjack was looking at his own reflection.
“I love his expression and bushy eyebrows,” she continues. “They remind me of Denis Healey. Someone else told me the shot reminded them of Caravaggio’s Narcissus.”
Wright is half-Norwegian and recalls spending summers there with family as a child. “We were right by the sea, so I think that’s where my affinity with water began. Whether it’s a little puddle or a fjord, I’m constantly looking at it in different ways, being inspired by it, trying to capture it. I’m especially drawn to reflections. Sometimes I like to flip them, or when it’s blurry rather than pure. Then, using black and white draws your eye to the details and the action.”
Wright hasn’t used her digital camera for years, opting for her iPhone 11 Pro Max for this shot. “Strangers give me some peculiar looks when they see me crouching down near water,” she says. “Recently, one old lady tried to help me up!”
