In winter, in Camargue, Flamingos gather in a large colony which can exceed ten thousand birds. It is the season of courtship display and the birds perform, in groups of about twenty individuals, ritual dances with rapid movements in order to find a partner. It is very interesting to observe a synchronization in the movements taking place between the individuals. After making a video on the Greater Flamingos presenting their behaviours and colors, I decided to follow up on the creation of a video highlighting the movements of the birds by playing on rhythm and repetition. I sought to make an artistic work highlighting the individual gestures (in relation to the anatomy of the bird). But also the amazing group behaviors seeming to be based on mimicry. The most obvious illustration being the courtship displays, looking like a choreographed dance. (I don’t have a telephoto lens, so I mostly did wide shots).
Filmed in Camargue with a Lumix G7 camera
Music: Coppice de Benjamin Gustafsson