Birdmen: Pigeon Fanciers documentary piece

Currently all over the world, racing pigeons are cultivated for their beauty, their will to survive, their tenacity, their incredible speed, and their legendary endurance-in short, the marvelous ability to race to their individual homes at breakneck speeds. From the deserts of the Middle East, to the plains of South Africa, to the industrial towns of Europe, to the ancient cities of China, and finally, to the skyscrapers of America, there exists a bond that goes beyond color, creed, origin, class, and politics. Lovers of racing pigeons are part of a worldwide fraternity that has been with us from the dawn of time itself!

This set of images document some of the interest insights of pigeon men, breeder, racer and folk that simply do it for the love of the birds. The images were all captures aorund the Newcastle Upon Tyne, and Gateshead and offer a glimpse of the people and their interest in these birds. Typically wet and grey on all days i shot which actually somehow added to the feeling i got. I was surprised by the amount of love and care the owners have for the birds. Some of the breeder were "tough men" though clearly had a soft spot for the animals, for other it was more like a business and pigeons were used a studs to breed top racing birds. Surprisingly big money was at stake for many of the top racers. I certainly wont ever look at a pigeon in the same light again.