Red Grouse

 This first shot was taken in real bad light with mist and an icy wind blowing which maybe ideal for Grouse but certainly not good for photographing them .To compensate i choose an ISO 250 which i should of set higher which would of allowed me to use a faster shutter speed rather than the 1/160 sec i had chosen which is a bit to slow when hand held.The aperture was set at f5.6 at 400 focal lenth as i could not get any closer without the risk or frightening the grouse off.

 As you can see here the weather was a big improvment which allowed a faster shutter speeed of 1/800 secwith an aperture of f/8 and my focal length at 400m.with the light being so bright  i ccould take quicker photos,so i could hand hold the camera with out worrying about camera shake but still had the VR on my lense.

 This was taken in a clear bright frosty day with  an aperture of f6.3at1/500sec with an ISO of 400 at 400m

 For this shot i cropped the original photo to see the Grouse's eye markings a bit easier to see.To get this shot i crawled on my knees slowly approaching as not to scare it away as i wanted the bright blue sky and the yellowing grasse's to be blured with the Grouse nice and sharp in front like a 3d picyure. i used an F5.6 aperture with a 1/1250 shutter speed at 185m focal length and an ISO of 400. if i could do this shot again i would try to get the sun more directly behind me so it would not appear under exspoed on the right of the grouse.I have chosen these images as they have very little or no distractions so your eyes do not wonder around the image

 this shot appealed to me as it lokked as if it were nesting but it was only basking in the warm winter sun.

when i was on the hunt for Grouse i stumbled across this well hiden Short eared Owl so  i grabbed the camera once again and got a couple of shots of just before it silently flew away as i was checking the image i had just taken.

These photo's were taken on the outskirts of Buxton in the Peak National Park heading towards Leak on the A53 at a small narrow road called Dale Head.The land is smootherd in Heather and whispy grasses that lie on a peat base.The land is very boggy in the winter months and the weather is extremly changeable with Snow,hail,sun,fog,rain and stong winds which can happen all in the space of a few hours so a weather check before setting out is a must.Here are a few shots with variable weather conditions.