And life goes on . . .
I'm overwhelmed with thinking of writing a catch-up post, so I'm strictly in the moment here . . .
I had a pretty neat time when I went to Debra's the other day. She had asked me to photograph her hands on the wheel for some ad promotions she wants to do. The photos turned out great and I took advantage of manual settings on my camera to best utilize the outdoor lighting in her pole barn studio. This is the first one I choose to work on and I barely had to do anything besides cropping it a bit. I took about 30 shots walking all around her and getting different angles as she threw a small vessel. The hardest part will be picking one to use. I'll probably show her several and let her choose the one she likes best.
As much as I enjoyed doing that, the best part of the day were the peacocks. I've taken so many photos of them over the years, but this time I got a big and different surprise.
Debra had been telling me about a new strain or species she has been noticing in the flock. She says they are Hermaphrodites. I saw several of them that day and they appear to me to have physical characteristics of both male and female. (I knew hermaphrodites have both male and females reproductive organs and many birds, reptiles, plant life, etc., are hermaphrodites.) I don't think they will ever get the long tail feathers the males have, but I saw they had other similar features to the male. One thing I noticed is that they like to display their tail feathers just like the male does and I even saw them doing this to one another. I want to go back again soon and see if they are going to change anymore physically. I love them and I think they are beautiful!
They are curious as all the peacocks are. I disappeared into some tall hedges so I could see what was going on in the neighbor's yard because some peacocks were over there, too, and Debra said as soon as they lost sight of me they all started coming over towards the spot where I went into the hedges. When I reappeared in Debra's yard, they were all right there waiting for me. They started walking away and went about 10 or so feet then turned around, faced me and displayed their tail feathers. They were like little show-offs! That's when I took this picture . . .
I got some information from the internet if you're interested in reading more about it
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the two sexes of the same species exhibit different characteristics beyond the differences in their sexual organs. The condition occurs in many animals and some plants.
Differences may include secondary sex characteristics, size, weight, color, markings, and may also include behavioral and cognitive differences. These differences may be subtle or exaggerated, and may be subjected to sexual selection.
The peafowl constitute conspicuous illustrations of the principle. The ornate plumage of peacocks, as used in the courting display, attracts peahens. At first sight one might mistake peacocks and peahens for completely different species because of the vibrant colors and the sheer size of the male's plumage; the peahen being of a subdued brown coloration.
Hermaphrodite
Organisms that have both male and female reproductive organs are called the hermaphrodites. In other words, characteristics of both male and female are present in one individual, in hermaphroditism. Hermaphroditism is more common among plants than in animals, but there are many dominant hermaphroditic invertebrates. Snails would be the best-known examples of hermaphroditic animals. It is interesting for one individual to be both a father for one and a mother for another.
• A hermaphrodite has the presence of a full set of male and female reproductive characteristics, and can even have both eggs and sperm in one individual, and is considered naturally occurring in nature.
• In a hermaphrodite organism, one individual could become a father with sperm, for one, and mother with their eggs.
• Hermaphrodites are always viable for reproduction.
I had a pretty neat time when I went to Debra's the other day. She had asked me to photograph her hands on the wheel for some ad promotions she wants to do. The photos turned out great and I took advantage of manual settings on my camera to best utilize the outdoor lighting in her pole barn studio. This is the first one I choose to work on and I barely had to do anything besides cropping it a bit. I took about 30 shots walking all around her and getting different angles as she threw a small vessel. The hardest part will be picking one to use. I'll probably show her several and let her choose the one she likes best.
As much as I enjoyed doing that, the best part of the day were the peacocks. I've taken so many photos of them over the years, but this time I got a big and different surprise.
Debra had been telling me about a new strain or species she has been noticing in the flock. She says they are Hermaphrodites. I saw several of them that day and they appear to me to have physical characteristics of both male and female. (I knew hermaphrodites have both male and females reproductive organs and many birds, reptiles, plant life, etc., are hermaphrodites.) I don't think they will ever get the long tail feathers the males have, but I saw they had other similar features to the male. One thing I noticed is that they like to display their tail feathers just like the male does and I even saw them doing this to one another. I want to go back again soon and see if they are going to change anymore physically. I love them and I think they are beautiful!
They are curious as all the peacocks are. I disappeared into some tall hedges so I could see what was going on in the neighbor's yard because some peacocks were over there, too, and Debra said as soon as they lost sight of me they all started coming over towards the spot where I went into the hedges. When I reappeared in Debra's yard, they were all right there waiting for me. They started walking away and went about 10 or so feet then turned around, faced me and displayed their tail feathers. They were like little show-offs! That's when I took this picture . . .
I got some information from the internet if you're interested in reading more about it
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the two sexes of the same species exhibit different characteristics beyond the differences in their sexual organs. The condition occurs in many animals and some plants.
Differences may include secondary sex characteristics, size, weight, color, markings, and may also include behavioral and cognitive differences. These differences may be subtle or exaggerated, and may be subjected to sexual selection.
The peafowl constitute conspicuous illustrations of the principle. The ornate plumage of peacocks, as used in the courting display, attracts peahens. At first sight one might mistake peacocks and peahens for completely different species because of the vibrant colors and the sheer size of the male's plumage; the peahen being of a subdued brown coloration.
Hermaphrodite
Organisms that have both male and female reproductive organs are called the hermaphrodites. In other words, characteristics of both male and female are present in one individual, in hermaphroditism. Hermaphroditism is more common among plants than in animals, but there are many dominant hermaphroditic invertebrates. Snails would be the best-known examples of hermaphroditic animals. It is interesting for one individual to be both a father for one and a mother for another.
• A hermaphrodite has the presence of a full set of male and female reproductive characteristics, and can even have both eggs and sperm in one individual, and is considered naturally occurring in nature.
• In a hermaphrodite organism, one individual could become a father with sperm, for one, and mother with their eggs.
• Hermaphrodites are always viable for reproduction.