Why explore portraiture of humans when there are cockatoos to be photographed? Good question. It’s hard not to be transfixed by the Wild Cockatoos series from fine art photographer Leila Jeffreys. Born in New Guinea, she spent her adolescence in a small village in India where she was “surrounded by monkeys, mongoose, and buffaloes.” This fondness for wildlife is evident in her work: each image is titled with the bird’s name (to name a few: Matilda, Slim, Bob), and seems to aptly capture the distinct beauty of the peculiar Australian birds.
“I want to celebrate them because they are gorgeous,” Jeffreys has explained. “I photograph them in a traditional studio portraiture setting and take photos that focuses on capturing their characters, not just their beauty… The project took me two years to complete as it was hard to get access to wild cockatoos. I worked with wildlife rescue groups, wildlife parks, zoos and private breeders that are all passionate about conservation.” Take a gander at the stunning images that she was able to capture in our slideshow.
Mrs. Skyring. Photo credit: Leila Jeffreys
Melba. Photo credit: Leila Jeffreys
Slim. Photo credit: Leila Jeffreys
Rosie. Photo credit: Leila Jeffreys
Queenie. Photo credit: Leila Jeffreys
Commander Skyring. Photo credit: Leila Jeffreys
Bob. Photo credit: Leila Jeffreys
Kirra. Photo credit: Leila Jeffreys
Matilda. Photo credit: Leila Jeffreys
Seisa. Photo credit: Leila Jeffreys