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  • Buy Art
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      • All prints
      • Birds of a feather
        • Sweet Dreams (ruru)
        • The Chase (pīwakawaka)
        • The Secret (pīwakawaka)
        • A real kiwi joker (kiwi pukupuku)
        • Bursting out (kākāriki)
        • Winging it (kākā)
        • Popping up (takahē)
        • Emerging (kākā kura)
        • Unfurling (tūī)
        • Abracadabra (kererū)
        • Autumn (kākā)
        • Muriwai (tākapu)
      • Birds of the world
        • Over the moon (red-tailed black cockatoo)
        • Contented (kookaburra)
        • Dreams of Freedom (dollarbird)
        • Her Majesty (eclectus parrot)
        • Whirlybird (scaly-breasted lorikeet)
      • Flights of fancy
        • The Selfie (kākā)
        • It's about time
        • Professor Polly
        • The big idea
        • A quick study
        • The web of life (toutouwai)
        • The reckoning
        • The scenic route
        • The bird watcher
        • Uncharted waters
        • When I sing my heart ascends
      • The beloved tūī
        • Portrait of a tūī
        • The Sign of the Southern Cross (tūī)
        • Nightlife
        • I shall ride every storm (tūī)
        • From Whence Cometh Evil (tūī)
        • Sad wings of destiny (tūī)
        • The Collector (tūī)
        • The Spy (tūī)
        • Unfurling (tūī)
        • Forever calling me (tūī)
        • A portrait of a tui 2
        • A portrait of a tui 3
        • In all his glory (tūī)
      • Awesome forces
        • All at sea
        • He came to me...
        • Adrift
        • The emergence of flight
      • Visions of Zealandia
        • Visions of Zealandia
        • An urban jungle
        • Imagine
        • Break on through...
      • Support Zealandia
      • A cacophony of kākā
        • Baby kākā
      • Wildlife Photography
        • A new view
        • His resplendence (tūī)
        • The Sweetheart (kākā)
        • Portrait of a tūī
        • After midnight (kiwi pukupuku)
        • Dreaming big (takahē)
        • Baby Takahē
        • The Poser (scaly-breasted lorikeet)
        • The Watcher (blue and gold macaw)
        • The Fighter (rainbow lorikeet)
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Kawakawa

18/1/2020

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Kawakawa leaves by photo artist Judi Lapsley Miller
One perfect kawakawa leaf amongst it's holey siblings
Some people dislike the holey nature of kawakawa (Piper excelsum), but I think it gives this under-rated native shrub some personality. Each leaf is uniquely carved out by the every-hungry kawakawa looper moth caterpillar. The birds adore the fruit and I adore a nice cup of peppery Kawakawa Fire tea.

It's week 2 in the 2020 Art of Birding challenge, and it was a simple one - to get inspired by leafy greens. Though my apologies to our snowed-in Northern Hemisphere participants who had much more of a challenge on their hands. I'm so glad so many of you were able to uncover some evergreen leaves.

400mm, f2.8, 160s, ISO 400, 0EV
​#artofbirding2020 #aob2020week2
I love taking photos of leaves, and often use them in my art by overlaying them with textures and collaging them to make leaf arrangements. Some examples are:

The Sign of the Southern Cross (tūī)

Details...

Emerging (kākā kura)

Details...

Unfurling (tūī)

Details...
Do you have a favourite leaf?
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Tūrangawaewae

3/1/2020

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Hazy view of lower lake looking up to the upper dam at Zealandia
A strange mix of smoke haze from the Australian bush fires and mist at Zealandia EcoSanctuary.
We're kicking off Week 1 in the 2020 Art of Birding photo challenge with "Where I Stand," which alludes to the Māori concept of "tūrangawaewae" - a place of empowerment and connection. As a Pākehā and as someone who grew up living in many different places, I can only have an inkling of what it feels to be connected to the land in that way. The closest I come is my current home in Wellington, New Zealand, and especially Zealandia EcoSanctuary. For the past 16+ years I've been involved in this huge community project to restore an inner-city valley to a pre-human ecosystem. Not only have we transformed the valley into a lush landscape teaming with birdlife, but we've transformed the surrounding city. Wellingtonians are now fortunate to live in one of the few places in the world where biodiversity is increasing. 
Pīwakawaka (fantail) in profile on a branch
Pīwakawaka - these friendly flippy birds are always a delight to watch, but so hard to photograph because they never sit still!
Today we went for a typical walk at Zealandia, but instead of the usual feelings of peace and tranquility, I was struck by the feelings of impending doom. The light was low and the air filled with haze and the faint smell of burning. Not because of anything local, but because the apocalyptic climate-change-enhanced bush fires from Australia have spread smoke across the Tasman Sea over 2000km away to New Zealand. The scale of these fires is unfathonamble and unprecedented and I can't bear to think of the lives lost - both humans and other animals. So many friends and family across the ditch are in harm's way.
PictureSatellite imagery of the smoke from the Australian bushfires (H/T Spinoff: HTTPS://HIMAWARI8.NICT.GO.JP/).
It's the start of new year and a new decade, which should be a time for hope and anticipation of good things to come, but it feels more like the beginning of the end of life as we know it. Is it really as bad as we're told? According to this recent article by Jonathan Franzen, it's probably worse, because as he quite rightly points out, scientists tend to be cautious and underestimate the likely impacts of climate change. We are now living a "new normal".

So what can we do? It seems so insurmountable, but I'd rather we try than just give up. It may just be a little thing, but I hope that this photo challenge gives some of us a voice to our concerns, and, in conjunction with compelling imagery, will spread ripples throughout our friends and families. Showing our love for our wildlife and wildspaces and what we have to lose if we don't change our ways. Right now. Right away.

Tītipounamu fledgling sitting on a branch
A tiny tītipounamu fledgling - a sign of new life and new hope
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    Judi Lapsley Miller

    Fine art inspired by the stories of birds and the natural world. Starting with photographs, I let my imagination take me on flights of fancy. What is real and what is imagined is blurred. What is physical and what is virtual is disrupted. Bursting with colour and life.
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