SMAP 267 - The Real Deal

Hello everyone. This is SMAP 267, the Show Me A Photo Contest Round 267, hosted by @nelinoeva. Check out the contest post here and join us if you still haven't. It's fun.

The theme for this week is:

FREE THEME

In SMAP 207 I presented a bird that is featured in our country's (Philippines) newest 100-peso bill. Click here for the link to that post. Several years back our Central Bank introduced the 1000 peso polymer banknotes. Polymers make up many kinds of materials such as plastics, rubber and glass and the new banknote indeed looked and felt like a thin sheet of crisp plastic. This new peso bill is SMARTER (more secure and sustainable), CLEANER (more hygienic and sanitary), and STRONGER (durable and cost-effective) than paper banknotes. In fact, this peso bill won the 2022 "Banknote of the Year Award” by the global non-profit organization International Banknote Society (IBS).

The 1000 Peso Polymer Banknote turned out to be a huge success that eventually the Central Bank began minting polymer banknotes for all its other paper currencies (500's, 100's and 50's). Of the 3 new bills, the 100 Peso banknote again featured a feathered friend, the Palawan peacock-pheasant , a bird that is endemic to the island of Palawan in the Philippines.

The Palawan peacock pheasant (Polyplectron napoleonis) is a medium-sized (up to 50cm long) bird in the family Phasianidae endemic to the island of Palawan in the Philippines. The spectacular male has a black body with blue marks on the wings, a grayish, finely speckled back and tail with blue peacock “eyes,” white marks on the face, and a red eye-ring. Females are mostly brown but with a white face. Wikipedia

At that time of my post (SMAP 207) I did not have a picture of this bird so I just used the photos from the banknote. However, recently I had a chance to see it up close when I visited the Manila Zoo. It was one of the many species of birds in the aviary section of the zoo.

It was feeding time. The food was placed towards the far end of the cage and so my subject was always moving and was quite a distance from where I was. Getting a good shot was quite tricky because there was the cyclone wire to think about too. Anyway, I got a couple which turned out all right.

Now I have my own photo. It's quite surreal when you suddenly see the actual model of an image and you get a chance to compare both. Maybe the next time out I can get a better one. Meanwhile, here's my entry to this Round.

All for now. May you all have a blessed Sunday. Keep safe and healthy.

(All photos are mine.)