Tag: birds

The White Peacock

White Splendor

Yesterday’s post reminded me of a composite image I created a few years ago of this peacock that I photographed here in Sequim, outside the entrance to the Game Farm, where it loves to roam.

Although devoid of the colorful plumage of their brethren, white peacocks are not albinos as you may think; they’re leucistic Indian peafowl. (Leucism is a genetic mutation that prevents melanin from being deposited in feathers, resulting in a white or pale coloration. While albino peafowl exist, they are much rarer and have a complete lack of melanin, causing red or pink eyes).

And…there’s no digital manipulation in this image, other than I completely removed all the color and sandwiched one semi-transparent image over another. In so doing, I created the effect I was hoping for to emphasize the lacy appearance of the feathers.

I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do, and I hope you’ll visit the farm to see this beauty as well as the others.

Pretty as a Peacock

Bejeweled

While I photographed this peacock in Victoria, BC, we also have a number of them here in Sequim, but the challenge is to find them and have access to them.

Beacon Hill Park in Victoria is the perfect spot since visitors can get close to and interact with them. And although I do not feed or recommend feeding them or any wildlife, photographing them is a joy.

This one reminded me so much of a beautiful blue embroidered peacock scarf I’ve owned for years (and never worn) that I decided to create the same effect here, by manipulating pixels.

And if you’re so inclined to photograph them as well, the Game Farm has them; not only the colorful ones, but a fabulous white peacock that loves to display his tail feathers at this time of year. And…he’s often seen outside the entrance!

Painterly Picture Week

Taking Flight

WARNING…for those of you who do not enjoy digital manipulation of photographs, please take the week off from my posts, but also be aware that I use my own photos in all my work, and they are not AI generated. Yes, I do use software to edit them and to alter pixels to suit my mood.

So with that said…Taking Flight was one of my first attempts at digital manipulation and although I’ve created many since, it’s still one of my favorites.

I photographed the image here in Sequim along 3-Crabs Road, printed it, and also exhibited it here in Sequim by invitation at City Hall.

I hope you enjoy it and that you’ll look forward to seeing more in the coming week!

The View from Helen’s Pond

Ahhh…the joys of winter on the Olympic Peninsula

The view of Helen’s Pond off of 3 Crabs Road, with Canada geese dotting the sky, offers a warmer approach to January than the snow on the ridge, at least for me.

And the return of the Trumpeters at Kirner Pond is the icing on the cake!