Peacocks have always fascinated me since first seeing one live at the Philadelphia Zoo as a child. The size of their feathers and the luminescent colors really intrigue me, and apparently the royalty of old Europe too. I took this picture of Eggenberg Palace in Graz, Austria. The peacocks are considered part of the garden, as they add a particular splendor. The tour guide said that peacocks make a certain noise before it rains. This one was making the noise, but I cannot recall if it actually did rain.

I have mentioned before that I am not very good at photographing living things. I used to think that animals would be easier to photograph than humans, but that hasn’t been my experience. I took 11 shots before getting this one. And I really was hoping the feathers would be up fully. The peacock did put the feathers all the way up, but he turned around. Nonetheless I think the angle of the feathers gives more of a sense of motion, of being alive.

Camera: Canon 600D
Lens: EF-S 15-85 at 85 mm
Aperture: f/7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/200
ISO:100
Postprocessing: Lightroom