Talking Turkey at Linvilla

We’re lucky enough to live near Linvilla Orchards, just outside of Media, PA, the site of super-fun apple and pumpkin picking and a delectable farm store (which boasts the best jalapeno cheddar pull-apart bread I’ve ever head the pleasure of eating). We stopped by Sunday, mainly to get the little guy out of the house after a long daytrip to the New Jersey shore the previous day. While he was busy having a blast on the wooden structures in the playground, I was drawn to the animal pen, which features mostly multiple varieties of chickens and a few peacocks and hens. And this guy …

The turkey. The ugliest, tastiest bird there is. Hard to believe Benjamin Franklin wanted to make this creature the state bird of Pennsylvania, rather than the esteemed ruffed grouse. But, as ugly as they are, they’re truly a great study in texture and color. I must have spent an age hanging out shooting this one. Many props to my wife, who continues to astound me with her patience while I go and do dumb stuff like make portraits of ugly birds. Both of these images were processed with VSCO Film for Lightroom 4, which is very quickly becoming my absolute favorite plugin out there.

In other news, I ran my fastest seven miles ever later that day. I blame the jalapeno bread.