Because I cannot find the old nothing-in-particular category, I am creating a new one inspired by these photographs of birds
Apart from the beauty of these images, what strikes me is the meaning and poignancy of each one. The photographers not only bring us rare views but their thoughts behind the images add contemplation of our unique world. Food for thought.
P.S. (The lovebirds in a Bali market make me feel rather sad.)
I particularly like the Nuthatch photo, scrambling headfirst down the tree…
Many years ago, we were with neighbours chatting… as you do… and someone spotted a “strange” bird…
I gained several brownie points by loudly exclaiming… “c’est un Nuthatch”… (excuse the appalling franglais 
)
and explaining how it was the only bird which could descend headfirst like that… (at least, as far as I knew )
“La Sitelle” is correct French for the Nuthatch… but my neighbours did appreciate my efforts at the time… 
I liked them all, particularly the Black Grouse having a cool smoke and the anonymous bird in France that looks like he’s having a last minute change of heart about landing on a tweezle.
Edit. I’ve just discovered that what in childhood we called “tweezles” are actually “teazles”! 
that’s a Goldfinch… we love watching them, too… flashes of colours as they dash from one garden to another… neighbours deliberately don’t deadhead the buddleia bushes… those seeds are an important winter food source.
Very cool. I take my (woolly) hat off to wildlife photographers. A lot of it involves endless patience and sitting very still for hours on end in the freezing cold or oppressive heat, waiting for something to happen.
And you tend to need really expensive lenses as well. 
(ÂŁ12,069 inc VAT!)
Phew, thank goodness for that, for a moment I thought it was before VAT. 
No, it’s a bargain!
Actually, like most Canon and Nikon “pro” lenses it’s fantastic quality but massively over priced.
The Fujifilm 100-400 (approximate) equivalent is ÂŁ1899 new. Still not cheap, but more affordable in relative terms.
That’s a heck of a penguin! 
No, this is one heck of a penguin
During my first years of visiting Valencia, Spain, the Plaza Redona
had a market on Sundays for caged bird. All round the plaza were hundreds of cages with song birds, mostly canaries, shrieking like banshees
Fortunately the city closed the plaza, restored it and returned it to its original function, a place with stalls and shops for silks and threads - haberdashery central.
There are panels around the centre explaining Valencia’s history of a major centre of the silk trade in Europe
and cafes and bars, of course.
There are stalls selling T-shirts and tat but that’s far better than hundreds of small birds in cages.
How about a video I found interesting?
Great photos here! Thanks for sharing!
Absolutely, wildlife photography demands so much dedication and skill! The patience involved is remarkable. I’ve always been intrigued by how much gear can impact the final shot, including those pricey lenses.
I’m also interested in photography, I find it to be a great hobby. However, I’m not ready to spend so much money on lenses. At least, now. But I used sharegrid to rent equipment. It’s a good way to access high-quality gear without breaking the bank, especially for such an enthusiast like me.
I’ve just recently become enamoured with macro photography which has taken me over – spent maybe an hour in the garden this morning under a baking hot sun, sweating, sat in a chair with tripod/camera, peering into small wild flowers just 30 cm away from the lens, waiting for something to happen. It’s getting into my blood.
I find though I am spending more time processing the photos than I am outdoors taking them.
Great fun – but got a lot to learn. The professionals are certainly a very dedicated lot.
The blue in the background here is a draped tarpaulin!
I imagine David Attenborough and his teams must have spent millions over the years on their photo equipment. I’ve spent a bit, and why not I tell myself, in my twilight years! Armchair wild-life photography.
Welcome to my world 
You are doing well at this macro lark!
I used to have a bunch of photography equipment, but when I became a minimalist I let go of all of it. I picked it up about 10 years ago again with the increasing quality of smart phone cameras. The quality of the pictures is not as great as professional gear, but you can do a lot with just a smart phone. These 5 pictures are all taken with a smart phone. You can even dunk the lens under water and take really good underwater pictures when you voice activate the shutter. I am having lots of fun with it!
Great photos!
I posted this leaf photo elsewhere, where I think it was referred to as a blurry photo.
I was learning/practising focus stacking along the front edge of a large leaf in the garden. On processing the photo, I saw a minute cocoon hanging under the leaf (look hard left of centre!) which, for me, gave the leaf another meaning, which is why I posted it. I wouldn’t post a leaf I was just practising on.
But with the presence of a different life form – a minute cocoon - doesn’t it say that a leaf is not just a leaf, that it is part of a larger mostly invisible world? A photo that speaks? Click twice on the photo!
Getting on fine with a renewed interest in photography, including macro. Am revisiting and reprocessing old photos using more recent software and submitting them to an image library with encouraging results. However, feel guilty using Claude AI to write up the titles, descriptions and tag words! Too much like office work.
And organising photos in a coordinated way is a bit of a headache. But getting there slowly. Keeping photo originals in their own folder, remaining untouched, and keeping copies of them in another folder is a must…for starters!
Ist real effort with macro. But only just in focus!
