Today was another typical Dutch winter day when you forget why you ever got excited about "fresh air" and "going for a walk." It was freezing cold, and the mist hung like a thick blanket over everything. It seemed as if the world had quietly decided not to make too much effort today. Except for the birds in the garden, they were ready—well, ready for the food, not for my camera.

Fog Ruins My Photo Plans

I had hoped for a few nice close-ups of those little garden friends. Maybe some great tits, robins, a finch if I was lucky. But unfortunately, posing was not on their agenda. Because of the mist, my camera also had quite a bit of trouble with it. And when the technology doesn't want to cooperate, it doesn't get any easier. Certainly not with the little birds. The autofocus kept hunting, and couldn't manage to focus on a bird. And if it did have a super-fast 'hit', it was a branch where the bird was sitting next to or behind. Yes, those creatures also seem to enjoy playing hide and seek. But hey, if the autofocus doesn't want to do what I want it to do, then I'll just use manual focus. In the end, I'm the one who decides what should be in focus, and the camera has to listen to me.

Lighting-Fast Birds

Now that sounds really cool, but I swear to you, that's easier said than done. Try to get a lightning-fast bird in focus that continuously hops from branch to branch as if it's training for a bird marathon. Before I even had a decent focus, my subject had already disappeared. I noticed at this point that I had lost some of my timing now that I take a lot fewer pictures. Today I felt like a beginner again, and that didn't feel good. However, I couldn't blame the birds for not wanting to pose. Sitting still is just not their thing.

Every Bird In The Neighborhood

Fortunately, I was able to find a subject easily enough, because I didn't have to complain about the busy birds in the garden. It seemed like every bird in the neighborhood had found our garden today. Maybe it was the food, or maybe just the cozy chaos that was going on there. There was no lack of activity, that's for sure. But unfortunately, in the end, the photo harvest turned out to be very meager today. Only a few photos that I was somewhat satisfied with, and I'll leave the blurred silhouettes and stray tails out of consideration. And to be honest, that's a bit of a shock for someone who has been taking photos for years, and hasn't had many failures.

Skipper Didn't Mind The Cold

Now, I could have stayed outside longer, but yes, my fingers were cold. And I also took Skipper into account, of course. My faithful friend didn't mind it all, but I could see that after half an hour of being outside together, that photo session was over. He doesn't mind the cold, but the fact that I wasn't paying attention to him did bother him. And he's right! After being patient for half an hour, he started pushing me as if he was saying: "What am I doing here again?" I couldn't blame him. It was time for me to start working with him and have a good romp together. Besides, my fingers were starting to feel pretty icy by now. So it was time to get my blood circulation going again with a fun game. I didn't want to reach the point where I didn't know whether I was still holding my camera properly or if it would suddenly fall out of my frozen fingers.

Tomorrow Is Another Day!

So you could say it was a day full of challenges. Admittedly blurrier than I would have liked. But it was what it was. And even though it wasn't a photographic highlight, the fog and cold together had something to it. Tomorrow is another day.