Description
Have you ever seen ducks flying during sunset? Have you ever wondered where they were going?
Ducks typically get active during the final hours of daylight as they leave feeding or loafing spots and heat to roost. They are semi-nocturnal because they do not use all their nights to sleep. They still stay active during nighttime, chit-chatting, migrating, grooming each other, and even relocating when the weather is severe. Young ducks do not sleep as much as older ones because they are still energetic.
When and how do they sleep?
Most ducks take brief naps during the day. These naps may occur several times a day and are part of their grooming processes. They begin by foraging, followed by bathing, then preening their feathers, and then lastly taking a nap.
Ducks are usually prone to attack when sleeping. Therefore, they developed unique sleeping ways that help them adapt to the challenging environment and survive in the wild. These include sleeping with one eye open and half part of the brain remains active while sleeping. They tend to sleep in a group setting, having themselves lined in a row. The ducks holding each end of the row are supposed to have light sleep and remain alert for nearby movements by having one of their eyes open.
CURATOR NOTE
I love the time of the year when birds fly in patterns overhead as they migrate south. This sight often fills me with an appreciation for companionship. During their long journey they must depend on each other for protection and guidance. The likelihood they arrive alive depends on one another. However, should they be successful, they are rewarded with safety and trust.
Often in web 3 we talk about building community, finding your community, the strength of community. Maybe we are imitating nature as we embark on this new journey together. Finding our flock, our tribe, our group is so important to navigating this new space and finding success.
THE CURATOR
Emma aka NiftyMetaGirl is active in the NFT space as a collector, community builder, avid art supporter, and NFT enthusiast. In the past year many artists have found guidance through the community she co-founded, MetaJungle. She is one of the few female collectors at this time and very supportive of female voices in the space.
THE ARTIST
Hendro Soetrisno is an international award-winning photographer. He is a Master of Photography from PPA, a Master Photographer in Fine Art - Accredited in Fine Art Nature from MPI, and a Master of WPPI. He represented the United States in the World Photographic Cup and brought home the gold medal in the Nature category and the Best of Nations award. He has won over 150 prestigious awards from reputable organizations worldwide including Professional Photographer of America, Wedding and Portrait Photographers International, Master Photographers International, Australian Institute of Professional Photography. He also held several Photographer of the Year titles from various professional organizations.
Hendro is a visual storyteller. His fine art nature images are part of his imagination, where the color of the water is sometimes pink instead of blue, where birds and other animals speak to him when he speaks to them.
His work is a result of more than 25 years of photography, thousands of captures, endless waiting for a single perfect moment followed by months of post production to bring his world of imagination to you.
He started his photography using a medium format film before switching to digital. He was a landscape photographer at the beginning but then his interest expanded to include wedding and portrait photography before settling down in fine art nature.
Upon a suggestion of a friend, he entered his first professional competition in AIPP (Australia Institute of Professional Photography) where he got his first awards. He continued entering other major professional competitions, among them were Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI), Professional Photographers of America (PPA), and Master Photographers International (MPI). Not only were those competitions judged by the world's best photographers, he had to compete against them as well and all these have been contributing to his learning progress. He has won at least 150 awards and earned several Photographer of the Year titles from different organizations.
As an acknowledgement, he also earned Master degrees from PPA, MPI, and WPPI. He is an accredited fine art nature photographer in MPI. These are not academic degrees but accumulation of achievements from each prestigious competition.
Upon rigorous selection, he was chosen to represent the United States in the prestigious World Photographic Cup - the Olympics of professional photography. He brought home the gold medal in the Nature category and also won the Best of Nations award.
Apart from competitions, he also mentored some fellow photographers.
His current photography style is a combination of what he learned and experienced as a landscape and wedding/portrait photographer. While landscape is quite dependent on natural light, wedding/portrait can be manipulated using man made. He "lights" his animals using the same principles as how he would light a human either using natural or artificial light.
The event that brought him to his current style was actually a casual conversation with one of the most reputable wedding photographers. He attended his workshop and during a break he told him that he needed to be his own, not just a copy of the photographer. There are a lot of talented photographers and he has to have something that distinguishes his work from theirs. Something that can be recognized as his. He does not want to be a nature photographer. He prefers being a visual storyteller who uses animal fine art to tell his imagination.
He entered the NFT world in mid January 2022. His first series "VIVID" which consisted of 10 images of edition of 1 were sold out in a month.
He run the collective Artists United. Their first project "TOGETHER" was the very first in the history of the NFT photography collective to be curated by a collector with a buy-back guarantee. It was sold out in 3 days.
LICENSE
Extended Editorial: Can be used to display privately, or in commercial and non-commercial settings, or in groups with an unlimited number of participants. The license includes unlimited use and display in virtual or physical galleries, documentaries, and essays by the NFT holder. Provides no rights to create commercial merchandise, commercial distribution, or derivative works.