2 of 3 photo series. Eurasian tree sparrow taken at 4.20pm. Sunlight is coming from the west. Harder photo to capture as the bird was repeatedly landing and flying off on the branch swaying in a gentle breeze. The title for me seemed appropriate due to the posture of the bird looking up. Chiaroscuro and catchlight techniques were used for this image, but the differences with the first are a) the material in its beak (food here) b) the spotlight on one of the bird's foot (one foot in the light, one foot in the shadow which is a literal expression of transcendence and c) the use of color tension and light quality in the background. Background colors are more pastel or dreamlike which pops the bird to the foreground. The green-yellow-red background colors also hint at subtle tension (split-complementary colors) - together with the birds posture, it hints at either escape or a longing to rise above. The final difference the viewer might miss is the quality of the catchlight - in the first photo, the entire pupil of the bird is lit up, showing its rich brown color. Here, sunlight is refracted within the physical structures of the bird's eye creating a rim effect on one side of the pupil that highlights the iris - the bird's gaze appears sharper, with intent. Its surroundings are also more clearly reflected in the eye. The bird is at the cusp of taking its next action - what could it be?