“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.

A Palestinian protester uses a sling shot to throw stones towards Israeli security forces during clashes on the Israeli border Eastern Gaza City, Friday, November 6, 2015. (Photo by Adel Hana/AP Photo)

An opposition fighter from the Failaq al-Rahman brigade fires a heavy machine gun in Jobar, a rebel-held district on the eastern outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus, on March 19, 2017. (Photo by Amer Almohibany/AFP Photo)

A girl pours water over a dog to cool it down, in the rebel held besieged town of Douma, eastern Damascus suburb of Ghouta, Syria, June 23, 2016. (Photo by Bassam Khabieh/Reuters)

Boys walk near a damaged building in the rebel held besieged city of Douma, in the eastern Damascus suburb of Ghouta, Syria December 30, 2016. (Photo by Bassam Khabieh/Reuters)

Fog hangs between pine trees in a forest near Neubrueck, eastern Germany, on November 20, 2012. Meteorologists forecast cloudy sky and temperatures around 5 degrees Celsius for the region. (Photo by Patrick Pleul/AFP Photo)

An Afghan man mourns outside a damaged house, after earthquakes at Mazar Dara village in Nurgal district, Kunar province, in Eastern Afghanistan, on September 1, 2025. (Photo by Wakil Kohsar/AFP Photo)