These beautiful peacocks in Beacon Hill Park, Victoria, let me get very close. Canon EOS 7D EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 at f/5.6 1/160 ISO 400
The colour of the bird hits me first, it is a blue so blue that it beggars description. There is an almost incandescent, glowing quality to the blue and it changes colour ever so slightly as the feathers shift, then settle in the sun. The bird is a riot of outrageous colours and flamboyant form.
I was wandering around Beacon Hill Park and I heard the screech of what I thought was a peacock. I followed the sound and saw a couple of them sitting in trees beyond a fenced enclosure. I tried to get a few shots from that distance but nothing was coming out very nicely. I heard another screech and it was off in a different direction. As I wondered towards the sound I saw one wandering around on the grass. I moved in very slowly and began to snap away. It was fairly early on a Sunday morning so there weren't alot of people around and the peacock seemed very tame. It let me get quite close. I was so focused on this bird so much that I didn't even notice the second peacock until it walked right past me within inches of brushing against me. I spent about 20 minutes photographing the 3 or 4 birds that gathered around me. It was very cool. I was using a long lens 300mm so even though the aperture is only f/5.6 the background is thrown out of focus and I was able to get a nice clean background that doesn't distract from the wonderful feathers.
This peacock's stare was so inquisitive. Canon EOS 7D EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 at f/5.6 1/250 ISO 400