A large variety of weapons were for sale at the Washington County Fairgrounds Gun Show that drew thousands of people over the weekend, on March 22, 2013. (Photo by Gary Porter)

Many people have seen feathers as decorative items before. Today, ostrich, peacock and bird of paradise feathers can be seen in haute couture and in the costumes of indigenous peoples. They can be colorful and spectacular in their own right, but how much more stunning might they be when used as canvases for artists, eager to demonstrate their talent for the unusual? Alaskan-born and -bred artist Julie Thompson is an astounding exponent of this incredible art form.

People watch as an acrobat rides his motorcycle around a circular track at an entertainment park set up outside a shrine in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on June 19, 2013. (Photo by Muhammed Muheisen/Associated Press)

1st prize in the People Observed Portraits Stories category. Carla Kogelman, the Netherlands. The photo shows Hannah and Alena, two sisters living in the rural village of Merkenbrechts, Austria. (Photo by Carla Kogelman/World Press Photo)

People dressed as zombies participate in a parade for World Zombie Day 2016 in London's West End, Britain on October 9, 2016. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

People walk past a New Year fir tree made of toys at a park in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, Russia January 2, 2017. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

People wearing loin cloths pray after they bathe in ice-cold water outside the Teppozu Inari shrine in Tokyo, Japan, January 8, 2017. (Photo by Toru Hanai/Reuters)

People in Mexico wave at U.S. Border Patrol agents on horseback patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border fence near San Diego, California, U.S., November 10, 2016. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)