a Dr t Oi sWt sN U N D E R Australia and New Zealand
INTERVIEW WITH JUDI LAPSLEY MILLER By Maureen Maxwell
Thank you, Judi, for agreeing to do this interview. You’ve been an active member of ADU since the beginning and you’ve looked after the New Zealand administrative tasks for the group, as well as doing a group monthly newsletter. You live in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, which is a modern vibrant city. I lived in Wellington for a couple of years some decades ago. I was also fortunate to visit there again in 2016. I was amazed at the transformation of the city in that time, particularly around the harbour and the wonderful Te Papa National Museum. At the time the museum had the Gallipoli Exhibition on. This was one of the most emotional, creative and incredible exhibitions I’ve seen anywhere in the world. Bird photography is a passion of yours. We’ve had the pleasure of seeing many of your images in our magazine as well as celebrating your many exhibitions. WHAT ATTRACTS YOU TO BIRDS, NOT ONLY TO PHOTOGRAPH THEM, BUT ALSO TO GO ON TO CREATE DELIGHTFUL STORIES THAT APPEAL TO CHILDREN AND ADULTS ALIKE? The more I’ve learned about and spent time with birds, the more fascinated I’ve become. They are so intelligent and full of personality, especially the parrots. I’ve a background in cognitive and sensory psychology, so it is interesting to see the capabilities of other species – how we’re similar, and how we’re different. Invariably the abilities of other animals are far greater than humans have traditionally credited them with. Long gone (I hope) are the attitudes that animals are soulless automata. Did you know that birds can do arithmetic? And that parrots name their babies? This leads me to want to tell stories about them – some factual, sometimes more fanciful, but always trying to impart the depth of their emotions and intelligence in a way we can empathise with.
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