It’s already mid-December. There’s been no frost or snow yet. But it’s not easy for birds anymore. Let’s feed birds in winter. It’s nice to watch them at the feeder. Birds quickly find places with food. For many reasons, there are fewer birds here. We hardly see some species anymore. Even the population of tits and sparrows is clearly decreasing. Spring will come and the birds will reward us by collecting insects in our fields, forests, orchards. In spring, it’s nice to listen to birds singing and watch them raising their young.

In the photos below the black-capped tit

     They say that autumn is the best time to photograph autumn. It’s true, we have colourful trees, autumn fogs in the morning. However, late autumn is coming. The trees become bare, and the days are cloudy and gray. Sometimes the views are almost black and white. The rainy weather is not conducive to walking or photography. You can try small elements of nature in the forest. Such macro images can be interesting. You need creativity to take interesting photos at this time.  

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   It is said that autumn landscapes are a photographer’s favorite subject. The richness of colors, autumn mists and soft light are conducive to obtaining beautiful photos. Of course, you should look for good views and choose the right light. If you take a photo without much thought, it may turn out that the autumn landscape will be so-so. Sometimes a photo of a small element of nature is much more interesting than a landscape. Many attractive opportunities can be found in the forest. Trees take on various colors. Photos of mushrooms and mosses can be interesting. Here are a few photos taken with a smartphone and a SLR camera.

     This summer we have an abundance of elderberry clusters here. So it’s worth making the juice. There is a lot of information about the properties of this juice on the Internet. I won’t quote them here. However, I will present the process of making the juice. It took me about 20 minutes to collect the bunches of fruit. You have to make sure that the fruit is fully ripe and juicy. Sometimes there are bushes with fruit that is already drying out. The next steps took place in the kitchen. After washing the clusters, I started separating the fruit from them. This was the longest part of the work, but it was easy. Then I prepared a fruit slow juicer. This device makes the work much easier. After a few minutes, I already had pure juice. Then I heated the contents in a pot and added sugar. I determined the amount by tasting it so that it was quite sweet. Then I poured the hot juice into jars and pasteurized it for a fairly short time. And the process is over. We will use it in the autumn and winter.

   Mobile phones are ubiquitous. Using them for photography is an everyday occurrence. Mobile phones take increasingly better quality photos. However, it is difficult to use only a mobile phone in nature photography. The conditions for taking photos can be so difficult that we can’t do anything with a mobile phone. However, mobile phones have the advantage that we always have them with us and they take up very little space. There are situations when we have the opportunity to take interesting photos and we only have a mobile phone. Macro photography requires specific equipment. Well, I sometimes use a mobile phone to take photos of insects. If you put in the effort, you will get quite a good result. Below is a photo of a butterfly that I took with a mobile phone. The sharpness is satisfactory and the background is beautifully blurred. Well, maybe not as good as with the right equipment.

    Photographing landscapes with a mobile phone happens. I happen to have great light. I don’t carry any equipment, and I have the mobile phone in my pocket. If we also take care of the composition of the frame, it is great. I take a photo and it is interesting. With photography experience, photos from a mobile phone can be quite successful. Unfortunately, many people take photos without any thought. They do not use the advantages of a mobile camera as they should. Even documenting family events with a mobile phone can be done interestingly with good quality photos.