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Incredible Macro Photos Highlight Colorful Details of Peacock Feathers

By Jessica Stewart on September 27, 2017

Turkish photographer Can Tunçer has been practicing macro photography for about 7 years, and recently turned his lenses onto a new subject—peacock feathers. Using three different lenses at 10x, 5x, and 3.7x magnification, he explores the colorful beauty of these incredible feathers, which have inspired artists and designers for centuries.

Over a two-week period, Tunçer took over 1,500 images, which were combined into the final images using a focus stacking technique. Each individual image uses about 40 different macro photographs. The rich color and texture of the photographs are delightful in their abstraction, as the feathers appear as metallic threads woven into different patterns.

As we explore the photographs taken at different magnifications, it's interesting to notice how the shapes and hues change, with the closest images—taken with a Nikon CF Plan 10x 0.30 WD 16.5—picking out the fine details and the pulled out photos giving more value to the intricate interlocking pattern of the feathers.

Tunçer was inspired to embark on his “peacock project” by a macro photograph he'd seen years earlier. “I was very impressed with that photo and immediately started looking for peacock feathers,” Tunçer shared with us via email. “When I found them years later, these fantastic photos came out. There are really great details hidden in the peacock feather. Especially the metallic structure is really worthy of close examination.”