The Timing Of Birds
A new world opened up for me the day the birds came into my life. It all happened when I decided to move my bird feeder to the kitchen window. Morning doves, sparrows, starlings, finches, and dark-eyed Juncos, filled my window sitting on the perches of my bird feeder, moving like a zoetrope, frames and all. These milliseconds of winged motions became immediately inspirational, calling for a visual and behavioral analysis in photographs, making comparisons to human interactions and my place in the world. I saw the idiosyncrasies of each bird, how they interacted with each other, in groups, or giving way to younger birds for their time to eat. Each struggling for a place, and when a seat wasn’t given up easily, a nudging was needed. It seemed that they were arriving at just the right time, a perfect momentary decision, with body positioning making the transition easy from flight to landing. There were bird arguments, mating rituals, feedings, group dynamics, all done within seconds, all done in the air. Soon, I began to make observational comparisons to my own timed swimming practice, the feeling of flying while I was flipping forward and backward in the pool, hands and feet in position, all hoping to complete the turn at just the right time, with the right form. In the 1970’s, I studied New Guinea Papio-papio baboons as a Post-Baccalaureate student in comparative anthropology at the Detroit Zoo. This education and memory was brought forward when I began to study the birds, to understand their instincts and beauty by taking photographs of their life, for my own visual/observational comparisons. All these experiences brought this work together.
The Birdboxes are a natural transition from the many boxes I have made in the past, but they were larger, meant for museum/gallery shows. Smaller boxes can fit in a small area, hung from the ceiling, or on a wire. Each box has different images on each panel. The transparency of each photograph layered with adjacent images on each panel.
These same birds that formed 65 million years ago, still held their right to be on the planet, as I did. Feeding them, photographing their movements, and bringing that beauty into my house is the least I could do.
The Birdboxes range in price from $500-$2,000.
There are 200 selected small photographs in the limited edition print portfolio. Each edition is numbered and limited to 200/200. All photographs are printed on 8.5in.x11in. archival digital color paper. They can also be printed as transparencies. Each print is signed, dated, copyrighted. Price: $150.00. Shipping is separate. Payment through PayPal available on this website.
November 18, 2019
The Timing of Birds 2018-19
A new world opened up for me the day the birds came into my life. It all happened when I decided to move my bird feeder to the kitchen window. Morning doves, sparrows, starlings, finches, and dark-eyed Juncos, filled my window sitting on the perches of my bird feeder, moving like a zoetrope, frames and all. These milliseconds of winged motions became immediately inspirational, calling for a visual and behavioral analysis in photographs, making comparisons to human interactions and my place in the world. I saw the idiosyncrasies of each bird, how they interacted with each other, in groups, or giving way to younger birds for their time to eat. Each struggling for a place, and when a seat wasn’t given up easily, a nudging was needed. It seemed that they were arriving at just the right time, a perfect momentary decision, with body positioning making the transition easy from flight to landing. There were bird arguments, mating rituals, feedings, group dynamics, all done within seconds, all done in the air. Soon, I began to make observational comparisons to my own timed swimming practice, the feeling of flying while I was flipping forward and backward in the pool, hands and feet in position, all hoping to complete the turn at just the right time, with the right form. In the 1970’s, I studied New Guinea Papio-papio baboons as a Post-Baccalaureate student in comparative anthropology at the Detroit Zoo. This education and memory was brought forward when I began to study the birds, to understand their instincts and beauty by taking photographs of their life, for my own visual/observational comparisons. All these experiences brought this work together.
The Birdboxes are a natural transition from the many boxes I have made in the past, but they were larger, meant for museum/gallery shows. Smaller boxes can fit in a small area, hung from the ceiling, or on a wire. Each box has different images on each panel. The transparency of each photograph layered with adjacent images on each panel.
These same birds that formed 65 million years ago, still held their right to be on the planet, as I did. Feeding them, photographing their movements, and bringing that beauty into my house is the least I could do.
There are 200 photographs in this limited edition portfolio. Each edition is numbered and limited to 200/200. All photographs are printed on 8.5in.x11in. archival digital color paper. They can also be printed as transparencies. Each print is signed, dated, copyrighted. Price: $150.00. Shipping is separate. Payment through PayPal available on this website.
November 18, 2019