People watch an eruption of the South East volcano of Etna is seen from the village of Nicolosi, Italy February 10, 2022. (Photo by Antonio Parrinello/Reuters)

People enjoy the color run in Guangzhou, Guangdong province of China on May 29, 2022. (Photo by Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

People walk during a rainfall in the old quarter of Sanaa, Yemen on June 25, 2022. (Photo by Khaled Abdullah/Reuters)

People enjoy their time near the Arcadia stage at the Glastonbury Festival site in Somerset, Britain on June 24, 2023. (Photo by Jason Cairnduff/Reuters)

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)