Many people may not consider pigeons to be beautiful birds, but photographer Andrew Garn disagrees. The native New Yorker has spent the last eight years capturing the charm of these common city birds, using high-speed strobe light photography—a technique that’s often reserved for studio fashion shoots. Garns’s pretty pigeon portraits have recently been compiled into a photo book—titled The New York Pigeon: Behind the Feathers—that reveals their “personalities, expressiveness, glorious feather iridescence, and deeply hued eyes.”
Published by powerHouse Books, the series seeks to change the public perception of the humble pigeon—a bird that’s often unkindly nicknamed “stool pigeon” or dismissed as a “rat with wings.” It raises the question, “What did pigeons ever do to deserve such disrespect?” The publishers proudly announce, “With this book, the beautiful, savvy, graceful, kind pigeon will be invisible no more.” And just like a fashion magazine, Garn too has his star “cover boy”—a purple-breasted bird named Dr. Brown, who is shown “flexing his wings and massive chest muscles, in an interpretive homage to a Kabuki dancer.”
Many of the photographer’s feathery friends were rescued from New York streets, including a saddle pigeon named Marilyn who was found limping with string wrapped around her feet. She’s photographed flaunting her perfectly symmetrical wings, which fold together into a heart-shape. The series also features portraits of newborn pigeons exploring the world for the first time, including one image of a 10-day-old “curious and confident” pigeon taking his very firsts steps.
You can now buy The New York Pigeon: Behind the Feathers photography book on Amazon and browse more of Garn’s images on his website.
Photographer Andrew Garn has spent the last eight years capturing the overlooked beauty of the common city pigeon.
The pretty pigeon photos have recently been compiled into a photo book—titled The New York Pigeon: Behind the Feathers—that reveals their “personalities, expressiveness, glorious feather iridescence, and deeply hued eyes.”
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Andrew Garn: Website | Facebook | Instagram
All photos From “The New York Pigeon” by Andrew Garn, published by powerHouse Books. My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by Andrew Garn.
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Source: mymodernmet.com