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.

WHAT GOT YOU INTERESTED IN PHOTO ARTISTRY?

I came to photo artistry by chance, when I attended a compositing workshop by photographer Shona Jaray. I then stumbled upon Sebastian Michaels’ online photo-artistic training courses and hoovered them all up. I loved how I could more easily create art with mood and emotion than through straight photography. It’s almost magical how a nondescript photo can be transformed into an artwork.

YOU ARE A LONG TIME VOLUNTEER AT THE ZEALANDIA ECO-SANCTUARY IN WELLINGTON. MANY OF YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE NATIVE BIRDS AND OTHER WILDLIFE ARE CREATED THERE. CAN YOU PLEASE TELL US MORE ABOUT ZEALANDIA AND YOUR INVOLVEMENT?

Zealandia is an amazing conservation project in the heart of Wellington City, just 10 minutes from the CBD. Twenty-five years ago, a steep valley with a decommissioned reservoir was fenced to exclude mammalian predators, and many species of rare native birds were translocated within the fence. Over time, many of the bird species flourished without the introduced predators eating their food and babies. As the populations grew, they extended their range into the city and surrounds. Pest control efforts throughout Wellington have made it easier and safer for many to now breed outside the fence. We’re now the only city in the world where biodiversity is increasing!

I was living in the USA when the Zealandia project first came about, but my uncle was heavily involved. When my husband Linton and I returned to Wellington to live in 2003, my uncle took us around, and we fell in love and joined up as members. We’d been getting interested in wildlife during our time in the USA and wanted to learn more about our own native flora and fauna. So we took the extra step of also volunteering. I started off at Zealandia as a volunteer website convener, and read every article that I posted online, learning more and more about our native species. Over time, more opportunities arose, and we eventually became trusted to manage significant conservation projects there, including coordinating kākā parrot nestbox monitoring (managing a team of 20 other volunteers). Nowadays, I’m more involved with running the art gallery “Te Māra Toi” (which translates to “the garden of art”), creating the fund-raising calendar, and photography.