Sunday, May 16, 2010

What is HAWKWATCH?

Yesterday afternoon I took some time out here in NYC to visit MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) I had a great time viewing many of the great masterpieces of  of contemporary art. As a photographer and lover of art, the visit to the museum brought me special pleasure as I visually soaked in my favorite artists, Francis Bacon, Matisse, Picasso, Modigliani, Giacometti, Dubuffet......   I came across a painting by the artist John Baldessari entitled "What is Painting"













As I pondered the words of the painting I thought how fitting they were to describe not just painting but what is the essence of the hawkwatch.
Here goes my version:
WHAT IS HAWKWATCH?
DO YOU SENSE HOW ALL THE VISUAL ELEMENTS OF HAWKWATCH ARE CONNECTED? HAWKWATCH IS A CREATION FOR THE EYE AND CAN ONLY BE HINTED AT WITH WORDS.
As a nature photographer and birding guide I have struggled to capture visually and describe in words the hawkwatch, its not an easy thing to do. The "hawkwatch" is GRAND in its scale, a panorama of migration.
In Veracruz where I live the migration of raptors(15 species) is coupled with migrations of butterflies, dragonflies, Anhinga, American white pelicans, Woodstorks, scissor-tailed flycatchers.....(the list goes on)

Here is a photo that I took that expresses one dimension of the hawkwatch. (...... a mix of Turkey vultures, Swainson's hawks and a Broad-winged hawk, all in migration.

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