Leo and Drogon by Olympia Zavros

My work, ‘Leo and Drogon,’ is a portrait of my 13-year-old brother Leo (Leonidas) with his favourite duckling. Drogon, named after Leo’s favourite dragon from Game of Thrones, is an adolescent Muscovy duckling that he got to choose. I chose to include the duckling in the composition to highlight how I see Leo in his first year as a teenager.

The reference was chosen from a selection of images specifically for Leo’s facial expression. I wanted to highlight how a brother looks at his sister. In the image, Leo looks past the camera, making eye contact with me after asking “How long will this take?” I wanted to capture his natural expression towards me. I am aware that, as an older sister, he looks up to me, as I do to my older sister.

My composition of him and the duckling captures an ordinary moment in our afternoon routine. Leo was feeding the ducks when I asked him to pick up Drogon for a photo. Without hesitation, he posed for me, willing to be part of anything his sister was doing.