Barcelonian photographer Xavi Bou has a deep-seated passion for birds and their ability to fly freely. In his ongoing photographic project titled Ornitographies, Bou utilizes a non-invasive, self-mastered variation of chronophotography in order to capture the marvelous shapes and patterns generated during the course of birds’ flight. His technique allows him to make the invisible visible, crystallizing the states of past, present and future all in one frame.
“I wished to know what the shape of their flight in the sky would look like if our perception of time was different,” Bou says of the series.
Bou’s admiration for birds stems from his long and unforgettable childhood walks with his grandfather through the Llobregat Delta, one of Earth’s most flourishing wetlands and the home of many different varieties of bird species. Since then, his passion has continued to grow, eventually becoming the focus of his profession. The title of the series, Ornitographies is derived from the words “bird” and “writing” translated in Greek to “Ornis” and “Graphia.” Bou considers his work to be at the intersection art and science, relating the images to a type visual poetry.
Check out some of the photographs from Bou’s Ornitographies series in the selection below. For more information about his method and the regions he explores, or to see more of his photography, check him out on:
