A cold walk

Cirl Bunting in snow

With most of Bulgaria effected by snow blizzards and tempratures ranging from – 8 to -25 its cold to say the lease, walking around the village and the outlaying fields with camera and long lens in hand its not long before i was having problems feeling my fingers form the cold. So limiting my photography sessions to just 30 minutes to one hour at a time then back inside for a coffee and a warm. I am lucky to live on the edge of our village so its just a short walk to my winter photography patch and i am enjoying the wonders of nature and wildlife.  Snow covered ground brings a few problems of its own for many camera auto setting so this time of year when the world looks white all over, I turn to manual dails on my camera taking my own spot meter light readings. Working in manual spot metering mode and taking manual reading from my hand or a object that looks nearest to 18 percent grey for best results.  This Cirl Bunting made eye concact with me and puffed out his body to make himself look bigger this action add a punky look to my final photograph. Enjoying a free meal of corn that I had just place on the ground at the right spot to allow my subjects a snow back-drop. A pocket full of mixed seeds this time of year helps to attract some passing birds into the front of your camera and lens also handing out a much needed free meal at a time when resident birds and visiting birds to your patch find it hard to feed.  

Blue Tit on side of tree 

The Blue Tit was photographed on a tree just outside the village, using a placing peanut and pigs fat paste pushed into a couple of holes in the side of a tree, then just sit and wait its not long before you will have your reward. 

Working with my Fuji S5 Pro camera and my general lens a sigma 150 to 500mm, the sigma covers a good range of focal lenghts.