Extraordinary-Ordinary Dichotomy

Bye Bye Birdies

Ever since I took this picture of pigeons taking off from telephone wires on South Street, I've developed a minor obsession with birds in flight. They are amazing to watch and their behaviors-- especially their innate predilection for formation flying-- are strange. A few days after I caught this shot, I was walking through Rittenhouse Park, and a few pigeons flew down and waddled around my feet. I was amazed that the very same creatures that appeared so magnificent in the air could look so unexceptional and vulgar at ground-level. I wondered if this dichotomy existed in all creatures including us human beings.