I'm Back!

Twite - feeding (Canon EOS 250D, Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary 015 lens at 600mm, 1/1000 sec at f/6.3, ISO 400, handheld)

I honestly can't believe that it has been six months since I last posted on my blog, but it has!!  I have genuinely lost my mojo when it comes to photography over the last few months, with a combination of work pressures and really poor weather in the north-west of Scotland (mostly), I just wasn't feeling the vibe.  When I did get out I was generally just going through the motions and as a result haven't produced any notable images for quite some time.  Anyway, I am feeling more in the mood and have some holidays coming up, so let's hope the energy returns and I can get back into posting more regularly.

The above image was taken this weekend at Alltandhu in the Coigach area of Wester Ross.  There was a small flock of twite, a kind of brown finch which is actually pretty rare, flying around the campsite and feeding on the flowering docks.  This one kindly perched, feeding, quite close to the car and I managed to get some shots through the open window before it flew away.  There were also some wonderfully colourful lesser redpolls, a close relative of the twite, but sadly they were too mobile to get a decent shot.  I have been trying for many years to get a dgood shot of a twite, without success as they mainly sit too far away, on fence wires and the like, but at last I have one - happy days.

While going through my more recent images I worked up the following collection of bird shots which I am pretty pleased with:

Lesser Redpoll (Canon EOS 250D, Sigma F/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary 015 lens at 600mm, 1/1000 sec at f/7.1, ISO 640, handheld)

Gannet on the Water (Canon EOS 250D, Sigma F/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary 015 lens at 600mm, 1/1000 sec at f/7.1, ISO 400, handheld)

Gannet Flying Low (Canon EOS 250D, Sigma F/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary 015 lens at 600mm, 1/1000 sec at f/9, ISO 400, handheld)

Grey Heron (Canon EOS 250D, Sigma F/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary 015 lens at 600mm, 1/1000 sec at f/7.1, ISO 800, handheld)

Whooper Swan (Canon EOS 250D, Sigma F/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary 015 lens at 600mm, 1/1000 sec at f/7.1, ISO 250, handheld)