Pied Wagtail, originally uploaded by andyskelton.
…I’m not sure snow fell on snow, we only had a flurry for one day unlike the rest of the UK some parts of which are still in the grips of such blizzardy weather.
We quite often have Pied Wagtails in the Close where we live, but they are infrequent visitors to our feeding stations. The cold weather however, changed this with two of these charismatic birds present.
Despite the incredibly low light that this was taken in, I was pleased with the results and having coaxed Wagtails into the garden I’m hoping they’re going to remain when the good weather and better lighting returns so I can get even better photos.
For those who are interested, this photo was taken at ISO 2,500 which enabled me to attain a fast shutter speed, 1/3200second. I’ve been using higher ISO’s for a while now, mainly in part to how well the 1D4 handles low light, enabling me to used faster shutter speeds to get sharper images as well as freeze action.
The weather forecast for the coming week looks fairly bleak, so we may see more and varied birds turning to the feeders for sustenance, so my camera will be primed and ready. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
Andrew Skelton: 
Great photo! The narrow depth of field really adds effectiveness to the snow. I also particularly like the Robin with its mouth agape on your Flickr feed.
By: peterdstraw on 06/12/2010
at 10:07 pm
Thanks, we didn’t have that much snow in our part of Berkshire, how was it where you are?
By: Andrew Skelton on 13/12/2010
at 5:04 pm
Amazing photo, really well done.
By: Nigel on 06/12/2010
at 10:24 pm
Thanks. I’ve moved the garden feeders so hopefully will get some better photos soon.
By: Andrew Skelton on 13/12/2010
at 5:06 pm