Australia is a continent of Cockatoos, a bird species with many beautiful physical variations, they are all full of character and playfulness and are extremely intelligent birds. I want to celebrate them because they are gorgeous. I photograph them in a traditional studio portraiture setting and take photos that focuses on capturing their characters, not just their beauty. I print the artworks at over a metre tall so that they can be viewed from a human perspective.

The project took me two years to complete as it was hard to get access to wild cockatoos. I worked with wildlife rescue groups, wildlife parks, zoos and private breeders that are all passionate about conservation."

Words and photos: Courtesy of Leila Jeffreys