Fauna Artist Becky Jaffe | Anise Swallowtail Metamorphosis

When I brought home a branch of wild fennel and stuck it in a vase in my living room, I harbored the tiny hope that it might contain hidden in its foliage a microscopic egg. When I discovered a plump lime-green caterpillar (left photo) marching across my rug searching for fresh food two weeks later, I harbored the small hope that she might survive long enough to pupate. When she folded herself into a tiny green hammock (middle photo) and fell into a deep slumber, I harbored the small hope that I might be present to observe her emerge. When I awoke on my birthday and found her pulling her last leg out of her decayed chrysalis (right photo), I traded in my small hopes for big awe. When she popped open her wings and sailed out the window a few hours later, I threw my small hopes after her and caught a whiff of faith on the updraft.

I photographed this series of successive transformations by simply placing a white backdrop behind the subject. The image is not photoshopped; the photograph appears to be a pencil drawing due to in-camera techniques.

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