Glorious Postcard

Due to its success and extensive visibility, “the kiss of macaws” has become the symbol of my photographic work and my trademark, as it was the most purchased among all the postcards produced by my publisher, a true sales record. It has also been published in various magazines, books, and even advertisements. This article is to tell how the photograph was taken on one of my first expeditions to the Amazon.

I watched the macaw couple for hours, they never stopped chattering, shouting, whispering, murmuring, cuddling, pecking, kissing… yes, kissing, just like humans do, with the same pleasurable feeling, passionately.

The focus of my 80-200mm zoom lens was at its maximum, at 200mm, for a full close-up, and the use of flash provided extra light, which was necessary in the undergrowth, and also to ensure a safe exposure time, no less than 1/125 of a second. The macaws lived freely in a jungle hotel, therefore well accustomed to human presence. They were comfortably perched on a branch and nothing seemed to interest them more than their caresses.

During the shooting session, as is my habit, I follow a procedure of priorities such as the imposition of time and aperture (with the most appropriate degree of automation), the precision of framing (so that there is no need to crop the image) and the undisputed focus on the eyes. Afterwards, the index finger is ready to respond to the stimuli of the circumstance. At that analog time, the recording of events was not as generous as now, as the photographer had a limit of 36 poses to manage: the film could not end at a moment of intense scene. So there was a greater need and training with regard to “knowing when to wait for the climax of the action”.

On the light table, selecting the chromes, it is where the strategies used showed their value and the captured details, favorable or not. There appear cruel disappointments and happy hits, expected and unexpected. On that occasion, I took to the laboratory about 5-6 films for a total of approximately 200 shots. And it was only on the light table that I discovered this passionate kiss, with closed eyes, the feathers of the head standing up, one’s neck stretched and the other’s secure shelter… it’s a true romance! And it’s not by chance that this photograph became the symbolic image of my professional work. Tens of thousands of postcards have been sent by tourists visiting the Amazon and Brazil. The two passionate macaws flew to all corners of the planet.

Now I live in a cabin on the edge of the forest, and every day, macaws fly over my house, almost always couples, and of course, always arguing, declaiming, commenting and reporting on something. Sometimes I get involved in their animated and eternal conversations, but I don’t know if they ignore me, or maybe they see me as another subject to gossip about. When I have the happy opportunity to have a nest close to my residence: they are more frequently in the air or eating on some palm tree in the area, and their highly expressive voice accompanies me in my daily tasks, for hours, calling me to interpret the conversation’s subjects.

I try to understand what they are talking so much about, I reflect on this strong and expressive personality that so naturally belongs to the sky of the tropical forest, whether it be by their voices, or by their colors and elegance of flight. Because of their high communicative quality, the natives can capture chicks to raise in their homes or to sell. Whether to raise or to sell are facets of the same human limitation, the self-interested behavior of separation (from nature), the inability to see the beauty of nature as a whole wonderfully harmonious. Beyond the curtain of ignorance, other perceptions arise: the incomparable pleasure of admiring, contemplating and respecting all the beings that live inserted in an essential and perfect, intelligent and loving plan. It is easy to understand how the macaw that becomes a pet, loses the essential knowledge it had in the forest and also destroys all the fruit trees that are in the proximity of the “owner’s” house. But the free macaw that lives in the forest already knows everything it needs to perpetuate its species, knows the fruits of the season and where they are, knows when they are ripe, can eat some that are toxic and then ingest clay that helps with digestion. Sometimes, those macaws that love tribal life live in groups, sometimes many of them come together, families and tribes, and make festivals… hundreds of protesters fly, declaiming, contesting and celebrating life.

NFT available on OpenSea

P03_067

Know his region
Green-winged macaw (Ara chloropterus)
The macaw’s flight is elegant and smooth, and perfectly synchronized. It doesn’t matter if they are two or more macaws, they fly in formation. Every morning they leave the nest and go to specific areas with certain fruit trees. They know their region well and they know the fruiting times.

P03_067 – Leonide Principe
Camera Nikon F5 with Nikkor lens 80-200mm f2.8 – Diapositive Film Fujichrome Velvia 50 – Scanner: Nikon SUPER COOLSCAN 5000 ED
Digitised from a positive on film
Original file size: 3520px x 5391px
Location Taken: Paraná do Ariaú (Iranduba – Amazonas Brazil)
Aproximate Date Taken: 1993
Collection: Birds – Persons shown: none
Keywords:
arara-vermelha-grande, Ara chloropterus, Green-winged macaw, Red-and-green macaw, araras, macaws, Psittasidae, aves, birds, FAUNA, animals, paraná do Ariaú, Ariau parana, Iranduba, Amazonas, Amazônia, Amazon, Amazonian, Brazil, Brasil, Brazilian, América do Sul, South America, beijos, kiss, kissing, emoções, emotions
EN(Analogic) Know his region P03_067
PT(Analogic) Conhece sua região P03_067
© – Leonide Principe, all right reserved
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