A firefighter rests next to fire combat truck during a wildfire at Penela, Coimbra, central Portugal, on June 18, 2017. A wildfire in central Portugal killed at least 25 people and injured 16 others, most of them burning to death in their cars, the government said on June 18, 2017. Several hundred firefighters and 160 vehicles were dispatched late on June 17 to tackle the blaze, which broke out in the afternoon in the municipality of Pedrogao Grande before spreading fast across several fronts. (Photo by Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP Photo)

An elephant is used to demolish a house during an eviction drive inside Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary on the outskirts of Gauhati, Assam, India, Monday, November 27, 2017. Indian police on Monday took the unusual step of using elephants in an attempt to evict hundreds of people living illegally in the protected forest area in the country's remote northeast. Police used bulldozers and the elephants in a show of force, and the forest dwellers responded by hurling rocks. (Photo by Anupam Nath/AP Photo)

The Milky Way galaxy is seen in the sky above the International Car Forest of the Last Church in Goldfield, Nevada on July 18, 2020. The roadside attraction, created in 2002 by Mark Rippie, has over 36 automobiles including cars, trucks, vans and buses that have been balanced on their ends or stacked on top one of another. (Photo by David Becker/AFP Photo)

Nicki Minaj shows off to the crowd on top of a music truck during the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, 26 February 2020. Minaj apologized on 26 February for her husband's behavior after a video showing Petty pushing a well-known local artist. The man had touched Minaj to allegedly encourage her in her performance. (Photo by Dexter Phillip via MoPho for London Entertainment/Splash News and Pictures)

Alexandr Kudlay, 33, and Viktoria Pustovitova, 28, have breakfast in their apartment in Kharkiv, Ukraine on March 5, 2021. Tired of occasional break-ups, this Ukrainian couple found an unusual solution to stay inseparable. On St. Valentine's Day, they decided to handcuff their hands together for three months and began documenting their experience on social media. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

“As a photographer, peregrinator and naturalist, I have been searching for the ultimate unworldly world. I've always been drawn to unusual travel destinations. For me, to lose myself in a different culture is a great way to find balance in my life...”. – Li Xinzhao. (Photo by Li Xinzhao)

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.

An autumn leaf sticks to a bench near the Bishops Castle near Wells Cathedral on November 1, 2011 in Wells, England. According to a number of nature watchers the autumn colours are currently reaching their peak following an unusually warm September and October which has led to trees holding onto their leaves longer than normal. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)