Login

Language

Cart

Your cart is empty
The BW breath
The BW breath

The BW breath

The breath of a giant in the silence of the fjord

Format:

Format
Paper:

Paper
Management:

Management
Sale price€49,00

Quantity:

An image of silent power. It shows a large male orca gliding across the surface of a dark sea, beneath a sky blackened by the mountain in the background. In this dense darkness, its breath appears as a white explosion, suspended in the air, illuminated by a grazing light that transforms the vapor into a ghostly cloud.

The black and white accentuates the visual power of the scene. The textures of the water are drawn like crumpled metal, the ridge cuts across the horizon line, and the breath becomes a point of light that attracts the eye like a pulse of life.

It is a raw, profound, almost spiritual photograph — a moment where you literally see the giant breathing.
The BW breath
The BW breath Sale price€49,00

The story behind the image

"It's the end of a winter day, in the heart of a fjord where the light barely touches the surface. The orcas move calmly, breathing regularly, and it is these breaths that resonate in the cold air.

I was very low in the water, almost at sea level, when I saw this male slightly detach himself from the group. His breath rose in the silence, illuminated by a tiny ray of light filtering through a crevice between the mountains.

I triggered the shutter just as the vapor expanded and hung above the water. It was very short, but enough to reveal something profoundly intimate: the presence, the warmth, and the fragility of an immense being in an austere environment.

This breath is his life force. And at that precise moment, he became light.

Stéphane Granzotto

Why is this image unique?

This photograph is unique because it captures something rarely seen in orcas: their breath as a visible substance, sculpted by light. In most situations, the breath dissipates immediately, invisible in the cold fjord air. Here, a fleeting alignment of light, the animal's angle, and the photographer's position creates an almost surreal moment where breathing becomes a form, a suspended cloud.

The black and white reinforces this impression by eliminating any distraction. It focuses the gaze on the tension between the darkness of the mountain and the brilliance of the breath, like a contrast between two worlds — the dark immensity of the fjord and the intimate life of the animal.

It is an image that speaks of rhythm, presence, and a simple yet profound beauty: a moment of life, perfectly suspended in the Arctic calm.

Art print

Printed on Canson Infinity paper, each artwork is crafted with professional care, certified, and signed by the artist. Prints are available in various sizes, framed or unframed. Each piece captures the richness of golden hues and the depth of the Arctic sea.

The photographer's recommendation

Thanks to its powerful black and white imagery and the poetry of breath, Le Souffle — Black & White fits perfectly into:
• minimalist or contemporary interiors,
• Industrial atmospheres with raw walls, concrete, mineral plasters,
• understated spaces where a powerful yet silent artwork is desired,
• offices or libraries where this contemplative atmosphere makes sense.

A matte black or dark metal frame perfectly enhances the graphic character of the image.

The artist

Stéphane Granzotto is a photographer, filmmaker, and diver, as well as a Canon Europe and Canson ambassador. His work explores the intimate connections between marine animals and light, in an approach that is both artistic and naturalistic. Discover his complete world on the Biography page.

Place

Northern Norway
Arctic fjord

Species

Orca
Orcinus orca

Device

Canon

The collections

Cachalots

sperm whales

Orques de Norvège

Orcas

Mer

Sea

The latest photos viewed

Fast and tracked shipping

Secure payment

Printed on Canson paper

Professional supervision