Leila Jeffreys’ Bird’s Eye View On Environmentalism

Australian photographer Leila Jeffreys has mastered the art of bird photography, having devoted the last decade and a half exclusively to sophisticated bird portraits. Day by day and shutter by shutter, Jeffreys role as activist-artist grows stronger.

WORDS: ERIK SEDIN, PHOTOGRAPHY: LEILA JEFFREYS

HOW DID IT ALL START FOR YOU? WHY DID YOU WANT TO CREATE ART AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE PHOTOGRAPHY AS YOUR MEDIUM?

I picked up a camera at the age of 15 and from that point on, it was always close by – I was the one in my group of friends who was always taking photos, documenting our lives. In the pre-smart phone era photography required more investment, and I was keen to develop my skills. After completing a Bachelor of Arts in photography in Perth, I moved to Sydney to study photography. When I graduated, I thought I'd try to photograph people, but the responsibility of taking a picture that the client was happy with was too much pressure for me. So I took a side-step and started working as a photo editor in the last era when printed magazines were thriving.

I was obsessed with animals when I was little. I think that was due to the fact that my dad was an animal lover himself. He wasn’t interested in cities, he was interested in wildlife and the environment and so we travelled to lots of really beautiful places. Even though my childhood was spent in nature I was drawn to the big cities, like London and Sydney. But when I reached my 30s working full time, I started having an insatiable desire to connect with nature. Backyard bird watching was my main connection to nature. For me, birds offered a window into wildlife because they are one of the last creatures that exist in urban areas. From a backyard bird watcher, I then became a more keen bird watcher and started volunteering with ornithologists.

I was bird watching on Christmas Island in 2008 when I had my ‘light-bulb moment’. I was looking at birds through binoculars and thinking, ”they are so ridiculously beautiful, why can’t everyone see how beautiful they are?” That’s when I thought, ”I’m going to try to take portraits of them, photographing them how I was taught to take studio portraits of people”. I never thought anyone would see them, it was all for myself, I was simply obsessed with doing a print for my home. Then I started showing them to friends and I developed it as a series. One friend who was really interested showed them to some galleries and it took off from there. So I was very fortunate in having someone support me early on. Now I have moved into more of an artist-activist role, where my process is driven by trying to get people to connect with the importance of nature and wildlife.

PLEASE WALK US THROUGH THE CREATIVE PROCESS OF PORTRAYING THESE BIRDS – HOW DO YOU MAKE THE BIRDS FEEL AT HOME AFTER YOU’VE SOURCED THEM?

Typically, it takes several years to create a new series of portraits. I work with organisations such as wildlife rescue centres and zoos like Taronga Zoo Sydney, and bird rescue centres. I greatly value the relationships I’ve developed with these important organisations and the opportunities I’ve had to bond with their birds. I travel to the birds. I set up my equipment in an area within which the bird is already comfortable, with my camera tethered to a laptop, and the backdrop, perch and camera quite widely spaced, so the bird still feels at home, and the equipment is not an intrusion. Allowing time to get to know the birds, and see which ones are more comfortable and more likely to bond with me, is an important part of my process. As the birds have been in care, they are already used to being around people, so it’s a matter of making a personal connection. As we build trust, they reveal their unique characters. I start by introducing the bird to the perch, which takes time, but soon becomes more and more familiar until eventually the bird is happy to rest there. Then I start to move behind the camera and work, gradually moving my camera in closer to capture more detail. The budgerigars were part of my ”High Society” exhibition. The birds belong to Alison Archbold who has been breeding budgerigars for more than 48 years. Alison and I spoke for over a year before I worked with her birds. I stayed on her farm where she has spent the last 14 years with her husband re-foresting paddocks for wildlife, raising heritage-breed hens to produce the most beautiful coloured eggs, taking on rescued animals along with her pet alpacas and black headed Dorper sheep, welcoming kangaroos that lie around the property like dogs and then, of course, there were her supermodel budgerigars. They were more interested in each other than me which I believe worked to my advantage as I was able to capture some intimate moments. Once I’ve captured the portraits, I live with the images for a very long time rather than making decisions instantly. It’s a very slow process. And then I need to think about what portraits will work well together in a series because they have to hang together to encapsulate the heart of the exhibition.

”In my work, the emotional connection is paramount. Something I have understood from a young age is that birds have an extraordinary capacity for expression.”

DO YOU PERHAPS HAVE A STORY OF ONE TYPE OF BIRD OR PHOTOGRAPH THAT TOOK AND EXTRA AMOUNT OF TIME?

Photographing New Zealand’s national treasure, and poster child for quirky creatures, the famous kākāpo Sirocco, stands as the most extraordinary photoshoot to date. As a nocturnal, flightless, whiskered, whip smart, giant parrot with a booming mating call that can be heard up to five kilometres away, the kākāpo makes for a great subject. Sirocco is the ambassador of the Kākāpo Recovery breeding programme where the remaining population of just over 200 birds have been moved to four different offshore islands in New Zealand that are free of introduced predators.

Preparing for the shoot involved a lot of planning, and on the night, I had to be ready with sterilised equipment and clothes, and hair washed. Like a Hollywood star, his every whim was catered for, and the room in which I was to photograph him had to have the door open, so that Sirocco could leave if he wanted to. There was a high chance I had travelled all the way there, and I wouldn’t get a portrait at all. And of course, when Sirocco came into the room, he looked me up and down, glanced at his carer, and turned and walked straight back out again. I had to let go and accept that I had no control over the situation, Sirocco’s carer Alisha Sherriff and I could only laugh. We stood around chatting as I contemplated packing up all my equipment, and soon Sirocco, being a curious and social parrot, seemed to realise the energy in the room was relaxed and so after hovering at the door for some time, he finally made his way over to his favourite tree stump to nibble on a fern, and I was able to take his portrait.

A BIG MAJORITY OF YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY IS SHOW IN A STUDIO SETTING. HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT OF SHOOTING THE BIRDS IN THEIR NATURAL HABITAT?

By composing my portraits on a stark background, with the birds removed from their habitat, the viewer cannot help but notice their beauty or how extraordinary they are. Usually, our glimpses of birds are so fleeting. They’re fast. So often they are hidden among foliage, or they’re living out to sea and it’s not possible to study them in a precise way. By removing the distracting elements we are left with just the subject and that really shows their amazing spirits and their very being. Working in a studio setting, the camera reveals fine detail captured in the shadows and highlights. Birds with a combination of light and dark feathers have subtle changes in hue within each feather strand, and those fine details can be captured uncovering beauty we can’t observe with the naked eye. Whenever I am printing, the birds must be true to their actual colours, so it’s important for the colours to be extremely accurate. In my work, the emotional connection is paramount. Something I have understood from a young age is that birds have an extraordinary capacity for expression. I don’t feel like it’s something I actively draw out in my images — all of the expression you see is already there, but it’s easily missed because of the bird’s small size and speed. When you focus on the bird, the lens reveals all their little expressions. It’s a matter of waiting for the bird to reveal its personality, or working with the bird to find a special combination of expression and composition. Rather than moving to photograph in the wild, more and more my ideas for future works are gravitating towards larger scale public multimedia events, to serve as a gateway for people to reconnect themselves to the natural world and our wildlife. That connection is imperative for our personal wellbeing, but also for the planet and all of us who inhabit it. I think once you experience the natural environment and engage with wild places and wildlife, you can’t help but want to live your life in a way that you hope treads lightly. The video art is really exciting for me, because it enables me to communicate all of the themes which I’m passionate about in moving pictures. There is really something so extraordinary about seeing birds in slow-motion flight, it adds another dimension to the wonder of it all. Our eyes and brain can finally take in how incredible they are when we can see them at a speed we can process. They are normally so fast but when slowed down, they are majestic, and it stills the mind and fills you with a sense of awe.

”Printing the birds at human size makes it impossible to see them as being less important than humans.”

DO YOU EVER USE YOUR EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE OF PHOTOGRAPHING BIRD PORTRAITS WHEN SHOOTING OTHER ASSIGNMENTS AND PICTURES?

I am lucky to be able to work as an artist full time, so my days taking on assignments are behind me. My work has been exclusively with birds for over 14 years now. When I was working as a commercial photographer, I was never at all comfortable in that role. Photographing people requires the ability to work fast and put people at ease in a short timeframe. I work at a much slower pace, taking my time to study my subject, pushing until I am really happy with the result. I was always uncomfortable with the prospect of working fast and handing over work that disappointed me. Once I realised that I only enjoyed photographing subjects for myself it all changed.

HOW DO YOU HIGHLIGHT QUESTIONS ON ENVIRONMENTALISM AND SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH YOUR PICTURES?

Humans sometimes need reminding that we are not the only species on this planet; that it’s our responsibility to ensure that there are places for the other species we share the planet with to live and thrive. Humans can’t survive without all these other species that exist within our ecosystem; we’re part of this web, not separate from it. Printing the birds at human size makes it impossible to see them as being less important than humans. They can be viewed as equals. At human-scale you realise that they have emotions and individual characters, and that they are far more beautiful in their feathered attire than any incredible clothes we may wear. They’re just breathtakingly beautiful. Equally, birds are a visual representation of mindfulness, showing us that joy is an experience that doesn’t necessarily come from owning things. I think the overarching purpose of art is to allow us to be reflective. One of the biggest problems we face these days is that we are so busy. Art can be a reminder of deeper issues and can offer us the space and time to consider them. It almost stops the thinking and gets you to feel and be present.