Are you a Bird-of-Paradise Fan?

I know that many of you, like me, are especially fascinated by the incredible family of birds known as the Birds-of-Paradise.  I love photographing them, and sharing the stories of these unique birds.

My goal with my photography is to spread appreciation and awareness about species like Birds-of-Paradise, and the habitats they depend on, in their case, the rainforests of New Guinea.  If you want to join me in this effort, one way you can do that is by displaying and sharing my images.  Yes, this is a sales pitch, because selling my work is how I make a living so I can keep doing this.  But when you purchase my work, whether it’s a calendar, print, or book, you are helping others see and appreciate birds as well, and you have become part of my team, spreading the message.  

So thanks for reading, and as the holidays approach, and my print sale is running, think about joining me in spreading your love for birds to others.  I appreciate your support, and I believe together we can make a positive impact.

Paradise Practice

A young male Paradise Riflebird practices his courtship display on a perch in the rainforest of southern Queensland, Australia.  The adult male of this species is jet black, where as the young males have the same mottled plumage as the females.  But it is easy to recognize a young male when after watching an adult male perform this raised-wing display, he flies up to the same perch used by the adult, and goes through the same motions.  Bird-of-Paradise displays are partly instinctive, but also have a learned component, and young birds spend a lot of time perfecting their moves, and seem to take it very seriously, as you can see.

“Paradise Practice” is now available for purchase in my fine art store.

Bird-of-Paradise Square Print Collection

Many of my Bird-of-Paradise images crop nicely to squares, and I have been gradually adding new images to this square print collection.  I love displaying these square prints in groupings on the wall, and you might as well.  Here are our newest additions to the collection.

The Stare

A male Twelve-wired BoP flares out his green-rimmed breast shield and presents his striking form toward a female in the direction of the camera, trying to lure her to his display pole.

The Twist

A male Magnificent Riflebird twists his flexible neck and reveals the amazing iridescence of his neck feathers.

Superb Call

A male Superb Bird-of-Paradise reveals the brightly colored inside of his mouth as he calls from his display log, trying to lure a female. 8

Plus a Few Favorites (and Best Sellers)

Red Bird-of-Paradise Heart Display

A male Red Bird-of-Paradise performs an inverted display at the top of the rain forest canopy, his extraordinary tail wires forming a heart-shaped arc around his outstretched wings.

Blue Bird-of-Paradise in Fruiting Tree

A male Blue Bird-of-Paradise perches on the slender branch of a favorite fruit tree, Papua New Guinea.

See the full Square Bird-of-Paradise print collection here.

Another way to enjoy the Square BoP images is in one of my Calendars, which you can check out HERE.  Last year's calendar, Collection No 1, can be for 2023!

Thanks for tuning in, and for considering joining me in helping to spread the love of Birds-of-Paradise, all birds, and the value of protecting our natural world.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!
Warmest regards,
Tim Laman

Special Recognition from the National Geographic Museum

Dear Friends,

Imagine my surprise and pleasure when I opened an email from National Geographic  recently, and saw the banner below?  An advertisement for the re-opening of their museum with an exhibit of “The Greatest Wildlife Photographs”, and my image “Birds-of-Paradise Sunrise” was the featured image!  This image is one of my all time favorites from my long efforts pursuing the ultimate bird-of-paradise images, so it’s very satisfying to see it get some special recognition like this.

Featured image

Bird-of-Paradise Sunrise

For those of you who might be interested in collecting large-format limited edition prints, I wanted to remind you that “Bird-of-Paradise Sunrise” is one of the few in my Limited Edition Collection, and you can check it out HERE.  It is also available in smaller sizes as an open edition.  If you ever have any questions about my Limited Editions, don’t hesitate to hit to email us at Studio@TimLaman.com.
I know I have shared the story behind creating this favorite image in a previous Wildlife Diaries, so I won’t share it again here, but if you are interested in the full story, we have a 3 minute video produced with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that is now also linked via my fine art webpage HERE.

BIRD PLANET Update

I’m excited to report that my new book BIRD PLANET is now off to the printers (it will be in stores October 4). I’m really happy with the way it has come together.  It has been great to have a chance to review my entire archive to choose the most inspirational images from all over the world.

If you didn’t catch it already, I want to remind you that I am offering a signed copy of BIRD PLANET (personalized if you like) bundled with a 12-inch print for $100.  I’ll only have 100 copies to sell in this way, and more than have are already sold, so you are welcome to per-order now if you would like to lock that in.  Books will ship in October.  Follow this link to see the offer for the Signed Edition of BIRD PLANET. 

As a little sneak preview, here are a few shots from the book.  In selecting the images, my aim was to capture the diversity and beauty of birds, and inspire people to care for their habitats, and thus habitat for all wildlife and a healthier planet for all of us.

Galah Gathering, Cape York, Australia

Whooper Swans Awake, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan

Cobalt-winged Parakeets at Clay Lick, Amazon Rainforest, Ecuador

These and other images from the book are also available now in my special BIRD PLANET COLLECTION gallery.

Thanks for tuning in as always!

Stay safe everyone, and be sure to get your dose of nature therapy.  It’s a beautiful time of year!

Warmest regards,

Tim Laman

PS.  For all you ORANGUTAN fans, I think you will enjoy a segment I shot of the early life of a baby orangutan for the new Netflix series “Wild Babies”, which is now streaming.  And to learn more about orangutans and the conservation work I’m involved with, please visit www.SaveWildOrangutans.org.

Spring Greetings from the Tim Laman Studio!

Dear Friends,

I have an exciting announcement.  One of the major filming projects I worked on recently will be released Friday April 5, 2019 on Netflix!  Called “Our Planet” it is an epic eight-part natural history series, including a “Jungles” episode featuring a sequence I worked on with Bird-of-Paradise Project colleague Ed Scholes.  We were approached by Silverback Films, the company producing the series for Netflix, about ideas for Bird-of-Paradise behaviors that had not been filmed before.  We pitched the idea of trying to capture the display of the Western Parotia from the point of view of the female.  I’m happy to say we were able to deliver, and in fact, our filming produced a reveal that was even more dramatic than we had imagined…. see below. We are especially excited to be a part of this film because it carries a very strong conservation message, and we believe that the Birds-of-Paradise can be great ambassadors for the protection of New Guinea’s rain forests.

Parotia’s are Birds-of-Paradise that display on a court on the ground, and are typically filmed from a ground level viewpoint, like in the top photo.  This gives a wonderful view of the male’s dance, but is not what the female sees.  She always watches from the perch above the male, and what she sees is clearly what is important in terms of the evolution of this remarkable display that occurred through female choice.  Over the course of more than a month of filming, we positioned remote cameras in many different positions around the court, including straight above.  Eventually, we managed to capture the view looking down over the female’s shoulder at the male.  At the climax of his performance, he plunges his neck in a way that flashes his bright breast shield up toward the female, producing the striking view you see in the image below.

Netflix has already released our Bird-of-Paradise sequence as a “Digital Exclusive” which you can check out on YouTube.  But be sure to catch the full film on Netflix if you can after Friday.  It was all filmed in 4K, so if you have suitable TV you will really be able to enjoy all the detail. 

Gallery Update: 

We are continuing to develop our Tim Laman Fine Art online gallery.  Our big plan for April is to launch a collection of my favorite Bird-of-Paradise images, made available as signed prints for the first time.  We will be offering a series of affordable 12 inch square prints (sneak preview above), as well as traditional large format prints for those with a little more wall space.  So please stay tuned for that announcement. 

Birds of Sunnylands: 

For any of you in Southern California this spring, please note that my exhibition commissioned by the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands is ongoing in their visitor center until June.  After making eight trips over two years to complete this project to document the diverse birdlife of their sanctuary in the Coachella Valley, it was very exciting to finally have a chance to visit earlier this year and see the gallery in person (photo below).  The positive reaction it was generating with guests was also very satisfying to see.  I hope you will have a chance to check it out in person, but if not, you can always view the images in my online gallery.

Thanks for reading and all the best,  Tim

Wildlife Photographer of the Year Winners Announced

This past weekend the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition announced the winners and had the gallery opening at the Natural History Museum in London.  Tim was specially commended in the Creative Visions of Nature category and highly commended in the Gerald Durrell Award for Endangered Wildlife.  You can see the winning images below.  Check out the competition's online gallery and vote for one of Tim's images.