Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: feather

(+3 insets) What a crazy day for weather. It started off very cold and frosty. Then the sun rose and melted everything. I heard the frogs singing during the day and then I looked out later, stunned at the big change. Along with the large and beautiful group of ten does and fawns nibbling at the grass in the meadow, angry storm clouds had moved in overhead. They looked like they were about to pour cats and dogs and I expect to hear rain on the windows at any moment! It's like that a lot here in southern Oregon, especially during spring. I think the weather is starting to practice! Today's picture is a feather I found on the road one day. I noticed something twinkling on the ground and kneeled down to see what it was. It took a few seconds to recognize that it was a feather because it was positively covered with droplets! I couldn't get my camera fast enough! I have also included two extras as insets: one is a close-up that shows some really cool details and the other is from above that shows the whole feather. That picture was taken with my flash and the appearance is kind of intense but you can see how crazy it looks. I'm also including another panorama to show the intense but lovely weather here! Pam, I looked for "feather" on your photo stream but only found a picture I've mentioned on another post—your lovely peacock feather and "Silence" poem. So I looked through the search and picked a picture that I loved...an absolutely adorable pair of fledgling chicks that I couldn't stop cooing at. How amazing that you were able to climb up a ladder to get that picture! I hope that you are having a good day today!! SENDING HUGGGGGGS!!! Explored on 2/20/19, highest placement, #6.

(+2 insets!) What a pretty day it’s been. This afternoon was so warm that it seems more like spring than winter! It started off freezing cold with a pretty cloud-filled sunrise and fog cloaking the valley. It was so cold that the frogs were huddling silently down at the pond, their romantic crooning a memory until it warmed up again. The forecast calls for snow on Monday but we’ll see about that. By 9am the sun was shining brightly and as the hours rolled by it melted the fog and the whole area basked in unexpected warmth. The frogs came out to sing in droves, their numbers increasing each day. Don’t ask me to find them as they are masters at camouflage, but I loved hearing them as I brought the garbage and recycling down to the road just a while ago. Today’s picture features a pretty find when Steve and I were down in San Anselmo over New Years. On our first hike of two, I noticed a flashing of white as we passed by and discovered a down feather adhered to some grass. I have no clue what kind of bird it might have been but it made a pretty picture for me to share with you! I am also sharing another find along the way, some wild grass that stood out in the sunshine with another stem behind it and the background falling away in artistic bokeh. I’m also including an afternoon panorama of our lovely view of the Table Rocks that I took the other day! Pam, I did a search on your stream for “feather” and found one that you had posted, a lovely entry for the Poetica group entitled Silence . What a thought-provoking poem! I sat and read it, thinking about each line. Much to contemplate. Thank you so much for bringing it to my attention, and I must also say that your beautiful peacock feather and presentation were perfect. Wikipedia provided some additional insights to this lovely and deeply reaching poem which you might be interested in if you don’t already know of it! I hope your days are treating you a little better lately! Thinking of you and sending a big *HUGGGGG*! Explored on 1/31/19, highest placement, #2.

NOTE: there are three inset images above! :) I have been having such a great time reacquainting myself with the ipernity community since my return a week ago. It's been so much fun seeing your photography and leaving comments. I am overwhelmed at the positive response I've been getting to my pictures and the warm welcome back from everyone. It's so humbling and touching. The other day I was admiring a beautiful macro of an apple and noticed that it was a submission to an ipernity group called Macro 2.0. I went to see what they were about and thought the group sounded like a lot of fun. I considered. Participating in group projects can be a lot of fun but one must be cautious about getting overwhelmed by joining too many of these activities. However, one group would be fine and this would be a perfect choice because I love macro so much. The new project theme was posted and I mused over the single word, "soft". Hmmm…I had a week to come up with something though I immediately had the perfect idea: I would take pictures of our darling parrot's feathers in various ways and hopefully get one that said "soft" when you looked at it. Feathers are a fascinating thing. Starting as reptile scales, they evolved over millions of years to become the modern-day feather. Nature is truly remarkable, isn't it? It may be hard to believe that feathers started as scales but one look at Pumpkin's big, scaly feet points to the obvious fact: her ancestors were undoubtedly dinosaurs. Every bird is covered with many types of feathers, each with an important job—for example, some are used to help them fly, others offer coat-like waterproofing, and close to their skin are mostly-hidden fluffy down feathers which keep them warm. As soft as they look at a distance, a close-up reveals that every feather is incredibly detailed...and they don't look soft at all! Even the softest down feather is composed of dozens of hookless barbs which have even smaller barbules—these look a little bit like thin pipe-cleaners. (If you would like to learn more, here are two really good resources: Everything You Need To Know About Feathers and Anatomy of a Feather .) This would soon reveal a problem with my idea. Using our nifty macro twin light flash setup, I got lots of well-lit pictures of Pumpkin's fluffiest feathers. The nicest were terrific with crisp detail, bright color and nice background blur. But though the previewed images said positive things they did NOT say "SOFT." Thinking about this, I changed my tactics. I used a shallower depth of field and just a hint of focus which drifted off into bokeh. After adding another bunch of pictures to my memory card, I left my macro setup and hopped on my computer. As I'd already noticed, most of my pictures weren't what I was after. Then I landed on the picture that I picked for today. "Now THAT is what I wanted...SOFT!" I did have another picture that would have worked too, but I think my choice was the right one. I included three inset pictures—one of them is my other choice, and the second one is a crisply detailed image that I really loved. It says "COOL" all over it, but it's in no way a "SOFT" picture! And finally, the third picture isn't a macro at all, but it does say "SOFT" and would you just take a look at our little star?! We do love our darling Pumpkin girl!! Pam, I know you love stuff like this so I hope you get some enjoyment out of my adventures and subsequent images. Here's hoping that you get my packet of love and hugs through the virtual mailbox! Explored on 11/20/18, highest position, #5.

This picture worked out nicely too because to me it says "soft." However, it doesn't have the quality of my main pick. What do you think?

It is always a great prize when I find a feather on my photo walks because they make such fine subjects. To the naked eye, these feathers look like nothing, but up close, the details reveal themselves and you find yourself staring at something that is almost ethereal in its beauty. I found this one on a drizzly morning at the end of September 2013. I especially like how you see the droplets of water on the underside of the feather...they look like spots!

2 more pictures and one note above! :) Since the weather has been so nice, I've been going for walks along our ridge line almost every day with Moosie and Zoe. I don't always bring my camera but I did today, and had such a nice time puttering along and looking for subjects to present themselves. We were walking along and I noticed something bright near the ground--this amazing feather! The light was hitting it just right and before the breeze blew it away, I managed to get a set of pictures. When it fell over, I picked it up and took another set of images (and carried it home to add to our wild bird feather collection!). Of the two pictures, I think this image is more magical, and it's also almost straight out of the camera--the only thing I did was a slight crop of about 15%. I love the natural sepia tones here too--I didn't alter this color at all! :) Elliott Erwitt (b. 26 July 1928 Paris, France) is an advertising and documentary photographer known for his black and white candid shots of ironic and absurd situations within everyday settings— a master of Henri Cartier-Bresson's "decisive moment". Wikipedia: Elliot Erwitt

This feather proves that imperfections can make a more interesting subject! Though worn and a bit ragged, it's interesting to look at, and the sun shines through the gaps and glows through the solid parts, creating a wonderful shape to appreciate. I wonder what kind of bird it came from, such a lovely pattern on it! :)

One picture above in a note! :) Steve and I collect Pumpkin's feathers and keep them in a special bag which we enjoy looking at every once in a while. Every one of her feathers is exceptionally beautiful, especially when light shines on them just right. I took this picture yesterday but just before I uploaded it, I realized that it really needed some texture to add some depth and interest. (See the original above as an inset) Do you disagree? I'd be interested to hear your opinion as to which picture you prefer. It's amazing to me how much interest a texture can bring to an image, to change it from a bit lackluster to something much cooler! :) The texture I used was Jerry Jone's, "Aborigine" .

1 more picture in a note above! :) This is the opposite side of the feather featured as my Picture of the Day. I really like the glossy sheen at the end of the feather but I think the other picture is stronger. What do you think?

5 more pictures in notes above! There is a tiny pink flower that's blooming in our large meadow now, and I went out today with hopes of getting some nice pictures to share. However, as it often happens, I saw this feather sticking to a drying Tarweed plant, and could not pass up the opportunity! That little pink flower will just have to wait! :D Did you know that new evidence has surfaced which calls into question the long-standing belief that feathers evolved from scales? In fact, new information suggests that the emergence of feathers occurred before dinosaurs and reptiles split into two groups! A study in 2006 confirmed that alligators have the information to produce feathers in their genes but these instructions are suppressed during embryologic development so that the hatchling expresses scales, not feathers!! Isn't that fascinating?!!! If you'd like to know more about feathers, wiki has a fine page here: Wikipedia: Feather John Randolph (June 2, 1773 – May 24, 1833), known as John Randolph of Roanoke, was a planter, and a Congressman from Virginia, serving in the House of Representatives at various times between 1799 and 1833, the Senate (1825–1827), and also as Minister to Russia (1830). After serving as President Thomas Jefferson's spokesman in the House, he broke with Jefferson in 1803 and became the leader of the "Old Republican" or "Quids", an extreme states' rights vanguard of the Democratic-Republican Party[2] who wanted to restrict the role of the federal government. Specifically, Randolph promoted the Principles of '98, which said that individual states could judge the constitutionality of central government laws and decrees, and could refuse to enforce laws deemed unconstitutional. Wikipedia: John Randolph Explored on August 5, 2013. Highest placement, page 3 (#60).

This image was taken at the Josephine County Fair on August 20, 2011.

[best appreciated at full size against black] The other day while on a photo walk, I discovered a blue jay feather laying on the ground. I brought it home with ideas of putting a droplet of glycerin on it for an interesting shot. I still haven't gotten around to that, but instead, I focused on this feather when testing to make sure our ring flash was working properly before going out on a shoot. Once I got my pictures up on my computer, I was rather surprised that this picture turned out good enough to keep! What a nice surprise! This image was taken in February, 2012.

There are many people who come right out and say that emus and other ratites are not even birds because they differ in so many weird ways. Even their feathers are weird. Normal bird feathers "zip" together and keep their shape because the tiny vanes in each feather have interlocking barbs. Ratite feathers don't have this feature. This makes their feathers much softer, almost like strange hair. Here's another weird thing: emu feather shafts have TWO feathers attached, not just one! Amazing!! Emu feathers are wonderful for many different uses, including the feather duster below. They are used in jewelry, hair extensions, flower arrangements, fishing lures, and of course, hat accents! Did you know that Australians enjoy putting an emu feather in a hat and calling it a kangeroo feather?! :D They love to try to get tourists to believe them, and the funny thing is, there are lots of people who actually believe it! :D :D If you would like to know more about emu feathers, I found a very nice page here: Red Oak Farm: Learning About Emu Feathers

One of my Flickr friends, Stephanie Calhoun who is also part of the 365, has a specialty which is adding textures to many of her images. They are simply amazing to see, so beautiful and perfect, and they are so inspiring that I wanted to try this too! I'm on the fence about my opinion but tired of trying new textures out...what do you think? Anyway, it's a start! Thanks to Kirsten Frank Art for the texture, and to Stephanie Calhoun for giving me the inspiration to try this for myself! Paul Mark Scott (25 March 1920 - 1 March 1978) was a British novelist, playwright, and poet, best known for his monumental tetralogy the Raj Quartet. His novel Staying On won the Booker Prize for 1977. Wikipedia: Paul Scott

This is my submission for Shapes: Heart! It was very hard to choose which picture, but this Mourning Dove feather wins! :) Isn't it interesting how picture opportunities sometimes present themselves as if they were waiting for you to arrive? This morning I went out with a challenge in mind...I was hoping to find a natural "window" picture because I was so inspired by one of my Flickr friend's images ( "My gift for the day was the light" , by Jannydawn/Janet Smith). While I was experimenting with different ideas, something waving in the breeze caught my eye. I focused my attention and this is what I saw! Gautama Buddha or Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha, also called Sakyamuni, was a sage from the ancient Shakya republic, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. He is also referred to as "the Buddha" or simply as "Buddha." Wikipedia: Buddha

This is an alternate image for today that I thought turned out nicely too! :) Only a levels adjustment and cropping was done to this, along with a frame.