Birds of Paradise

Outside Athens, Greece, 2022

These plants with magnificent flowers resembling birds with bright plumage  are native to South Africa. They were first introduced to Britain in 1773 by the botanist Sir Joseph Banks and it was grown at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

In Autumn 2022, I was surprised to find two Birds of Paradise flowers in an Olive Tree Farm.  I challenged myself to photograph them in a way that breaks from the familiar images we are used to see.   Their elegance deserved something different, something more abstract emphasising shape, colour and textures.   I hadn’t used the multiple exposure setting in my camera before. It felt it was the right moment to explore a new technique that allows me to explore light and form in a more expressive way.