One of my favorite poems is Wallace Stevens’ “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird.” One of my favorite San Diego birds is not a bird at all. It’s a flower... a garish, outrageous, show off that we call “Bird of Paradise.” Liberated today from a self-imposed seven-day photographic limitation, I picked up my camera bags, left my iPhone behind, and headed out to find something to shoot with a faithful old Nikon D2X. I came upon a line of birds of paradise, most of them tired out from brightening up San Diego’s excuse for winter. I finally found a couple of fresh ones and took Wallace Stevens’ lead, trying different ways of looking at a bird of paradise. We have in San Diego a giant white version of the bird of paradise. I found one of those and made of it some wildly abstract images that don’t look much like flowers or birds.
If you don’t know Steven’s poem and are interested in reading it, you’ll find it on the WEB:
http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/stevens-13ways.html
4 comments:
I recall you posting photos of this beautiful various times in the past, and with good reason. When we visit our favorite gardens in Longwood, they always have some of these, and I always think of the ones I see through your eye. But I must say, San Diego has better "birds" then PA.
They are so vivid and abstract. Love them all. I really have to start pressuring you to make a show. I'm thinking that I want to get even more abstract with my nature paintings. Dual show? Let's talk.
Clyde
You make this wonderful flower even more wonderful with your various look at it from so many directions.
M.L.
Birds of Paradise, they look like abstract paintings.
ABA
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