THOMASVILLE — A photograph of a white goat’s face peering through a fence was among Shannon Thompson’s photography on exhibit Saturday at the Plantation Wildlife Arts Festival at Thomasville Cultural Center.

Nearby was a photo on canvas of two cheetahs. The artwork appeared to be a painting. What looked like a fog-like haze surrounding the big cats was a dust storm, Thompson explained.

Another photo was of an elephant giving itself a dirt bath via its trunk.

Yet another photo Thompson shot in Africa is of a lilac-breasted roller. The pastel-hued bird sits atop a weathered, worn fence post in Tanzania.

This is Thompson’s first year exhibiting in the festival.

When she isn’t traveling around Africa shooting photos of wildlife, Thompson, a Camilla resident, manages a sweet-corn business belonging to her father, Joe Thompson.

Africa offers Thompson many photographic opportunities. Patience is required in waiting for the shot and in sorting through many, many shots to find that one stand-out photo, she explained.

Another first-time exhibitor was Dexter, Mich., artist, Lauren Kingsley.

“I’m honored to have gotten in,” Kingsley said. “It’s a great show.”

She hand-paints fresh- and salt-water fish, birds and bugs on silk to create exquisite scarves.

Her silk comes from Thailand, China and Vietnam. “No silk is produced in the United States,” Kingsley said. She is in the process of trying to acquire silk from Italy.

“I started doing quail this year. I had been doing pheasants and ducks,” said Kingsley, owner of The Painted Trout.

Kingsley also offers bandanas, men’s ties and other men’s clothing, including whimsical cotton boxers with patterns of “blue flies” and “happy fish.”

Mike Stephenson of Tallahassee, Fla., admired oil paintings by D. Arthur McBride. The Havana, Fla.,’s art is not new to Stephenson.

During a trip to Panama, he took two photos McBride turned into oil paintings.

McBride’s paintings included a large tiger, a leopard and a horse, along with a striking oil of purple-pink African violet blooms and graceful flowers trailing upward from lily pads.

The artists’ favorite subjects to paint are people, with horses a close second.

McBride said the festival is considered “one of the best.”

The event continues from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. today.

Festival-goers were lined up at 11:30 a.m. to purchase tickets to get into the event.

Alison Nudd, ticket sales chairman, expected about 4,000 people to attend the two-day festival.