This "project"
came about for the simplest of reasons. I bought a new bag. In
an effort revive the creative embers that had become buried under
a mountain of mundane "Work," I bought a new combination
briefcase / camera bag, so that I would once again always have
a camera with me. This created clear confusion in my girlfriend.
"Yes, I am once again taking pictures because it's fun. Please
do not have me committed."
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Mother Nature immediately
plopped the best of subjects, new life, right at my doorstep. Literally.
Two times. A bird's nest at the door of the studio where I work,
and a nest outside the door of my home. The nest at the studio was
about a week ahead of the one at home, so we'll start there. At
right is Mama Bird #1, an urban bird, residing in Midtown Atlanta,
Georgia, 30309.
This nest was placed
in one of a pair of large potted bushes outside the studio's main
entrance. The nest itself was maybe three feet from the edge of
the door. Not exactly what you would think is a prime nesting location,
but this was Mama Bird #1's second year in that same nest.
Last year she raised
a single hatchling. While we worried about disturbing the process
with our comings and goings, in the end, it was the human's who
were disturbed. An intern was terrorized the day Mama and Papa bird
taught their hatchling to fly. She claimed they would not let her
leave, divebombing her each time she tried to go out the door. Nature
prevailed.
This year, two eggs appeared, and
I was quickly convinced it was the same mating pair. If you talked
to her gently, Mama Bird would stay on the nest most of the time
as you entered or exited the door. And Papa Bird still held fast
on the edge of the nest, with a glare that said "don't you
mess with my babies."
While I tried to be discreet,
the hatchlings seemed unaffected by my occasional presence with
a camera. In fact, as was true in the second nest, they seemed to
regard the arrival of any large being as a potential opportunity
to be fed, to be met with mouth agape, as below.
One Monday, we arrived
to find a vacant nest, so I missed the miracle of first flight.
But that wasn't true of Nest
Two.
