Nature and Wildlife Photography blog

La Primavera

2011-05-16T19:01:00.000+03:00

I LOVE SPRING! :D

I have never seen this kind of pose with wagtails before. The left bird was defending his territory.

Stunning blue colours everywhere! :)

Lots to plant! :P

Cute little bee

They are so beautiful if you get really close!

Bee looking through a hole.

My favourite - long-tailed tit :)

Visit to the local zoo

2011-05-09T20:05:00.000+03:00

Gorgeous Amur leopard! :)

Hello there little fella! :D Is that a watermelon your'e eating? :P

Oh my, what big paws you have :)

...and such lovely eyes too!

The pelicans thought they were in a spa and acted accordingly :D

Haha that looks like some bird from the age of the dinosaurs :D

Internet friends

2011-05-06T16:54:00.000+03:00

Today's post is a little different than usually. I wanted to talk about some of my friends that I've found through the internet. And I can even say that one of them is one of my best friends even today.
I met him almost 10 years ago in one chat place. We started talking and found out that we have a lot in common. He is a very interesting guy and talking to him is never boring. He has a great sense of humour and is a great cook :) He lives in Estonia so yes, we have met ;)
Another friend that I met through the internet has also a great sense of humour (I guess I'm drawn to that! LOL) but I'm sad to say we don't talk as much as we did when we first met. We both lead busy lifestyles but still write on occasion. We have also met a couple of times, he lives in the UK and he came to visit me (twice) and we also had a holiday together with my hubby and his girlfriend in Italy years ago. Miss him a lot sometimes.

But this post is dedicated to Debbie from The Wug's Backyard who I met about a year and a half ago (if I remember correctly :D). She is always so supportive and funny and her blog is an excellent reading material! It will have you smiling for hours! :) She is also really good at crocheting and I have the privilege to own two of her scarves (I ordered one but she also sent me another pretty scarf for free :D) and one cute flower pin :)

Mine! All mine! :P

The reason why I am writing about this is because I'm so happy that I got a gift from her with Sunflower seeds :)

She also included a cute little thank you card :)

Might not seem much to most of you but it's the little things that make me happy and when you think about it: they are seeds now but wait until the grow and get BIG :D There will be so much to be happy about then!
We were talking about the seeds last year and I was asking if they still have those seeds in the shop and that I would like to order one pack. But they were all out. And now this spring her hubby remembered that I was interested in the seeds and went and bought me a pack and then Debbie sent it to me from the other side of the planet and didn't even ask me for money... I know it didn't cost a lot of money but still, these kinds of simple gestures are so nice and heartwarming :) So I just wanted to say thank you, Debbie, for being my friend and my seed supplier! :))

I will share some of the items that I love from her shop

Necklace, Blue Heart Hide Away Slipper

Necklace, Green Love And Money Bird Flower

This next scarf is really gorgeous!

Scarf, Candy Corn Look

You can find more about her from her blog and her Etsy shop!

Thank you, my internet friends, for making me smile each and every day! :)

Free desktop calendar for May 2011

2011-04-30T21:35:00.000+03:00

Happy one year anniversary! :) It's been a year since I first started making these free desktop calendars.

I have pretty much continued on the path I took last month by tweaking the images a little more than usual. Hope you like this artistic style!

I've made 2 sizes that are most popular.

Size: normal (1600 x 1200 px) 4:3

Size: wide (1600 x 900 px) 16:9

You can download this wallpaper for free. You can also do some good and donate either $1 or $5 to help me keep these pictures coming. It's not much but it's your choice! Thank you! :)

Here's how you get this image to your desktop:
1. click on the image to enlarge
2. right click on the enlarged image and choose “Save Image As”
3. Browse your computer and choose a location to save image.
4. Click “Save”
To install the desktop calendar
once it has been downloaded to your computer,
locate the image(wherever you saved it)
Right click on the photo
select
“Set as desktop background”.

Enjoy!

P.S. Comments are loved! :)

Spring is finally here!!! vol2

2011-04-27T20:22:00.000+03:00

Second part of yesterday's post as promised.

Marsh harrier

Looks like Hitchcock's "Birds" :)

Made the last snowman of this spring :P He was only about 10cm tall :)

Yes, that's an iceberg.... I hope it has melted now since it's been really warm :)

Until next time,

Mariann

Spring is finally here!!! vol1

2011-04-26T20:29:00.000+03:00

Ahhh, I thought the winter would never end and yet here it is, the beautiful spring! :))) I'm going to show you some pictures I took while I was visiting my mum last week. I had such great time there and the weather was perfect.

This is my mum, we are both keen bird watching enthusiasts :)

The perfect camouflage for a bullfinch

It's so nice to see flowers blooming again!

Try not to choke while you eat...

Fieldfare

Hellloooo little bug! :)

I love crocuses!

Especially the purple ones

Hellooo to you too, Scrapps! If you read my blog often you'll know that this is my mum's cute doggy :) Obviously she is not afraid of heights like I am :S

Look, what the beavers have done! :S

Lady chaffinch

Great tit

Starlings have already moved in! :)

Not so good photos but I've never photographed bramblings before

Beautiful bird!

More to come tomorrow :)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-06T23:58:00.000+03:00

Free desktop calendar for April 2011

2011-03-31T14:59:00.000+03:00

Hi there! :) Are you feeling the spring yet? Well I am, despite the fact that there is still lots of white stuff on the ground, I feel the spring in my heart. So here is something gorgeous to brighten up your desktop and make you feel warm inside :)

This one took a lot more effort than usually so I would greatly appreciate it if you could share this free desktop calendar with your friends and if you could give me a small donation too (I will smile even if it's only $1 :))! Thank you!

I've made 2 sizes that are most popular!

Size: normal (1600 x 1200 px) 4:3

Size: wide (1920 x 1080 px) 16:9

Free desktop calendar for March 2011

2011-02-28T15:01:00.000+02:00

Well, this was a difficult one. Why? Well because March in Estonia is still winter but everybody is so sick of it and wants to see the flowers and green grass already. But the flowers will start to come in April and not before :( Okay... there are spring snowflakes that come out in March but for some reason I couldn't find any pics of them :S Must fix this problem this year! :P So as I was looking through my pics from previous years I discovered this photo of tulips that I had taken and that was bright and colourful and just lovely for a March calendar. Oh and different too from what I've previously posted. Repeat after me: different is good! ;)

This photo was taken by using the technique "painting with light". It simply means that during the long exposure I used different coloured torches to illuminate both the flowers and make the spiral light you see on the right side.

I would greatly appreciate if you could share this free desktop calendar with your friends and maybe give me a small donation too (I will smile even if it's only $1 :))! Thank you!

I've made 2 sizes that are most popular!

Size: normal (1600 x 1200 px) 4:3

Size: wide (1920 x 1080 px) 16:9

Glorious light - Part 2

2011-02-26T14:00:00.001+02:00

The rest of the swan and sunset images I took last Sunday. Hope you enjoy and be sure to have a nice cup of coffee or hot chocolate while watching so that you wont feel cold ;)

Frozen tale

Goosander

Loving this light!!

As I mentioned yesterday - the sun was HUGE!

There were also a couple of whooper swans

This is one of my favorite images :)

Thank you for viewing,

Mariann

Glorious light - Part 1

2011-02-25T11:06:00.004+02:00

Last Friday I saw the most amazing sunset, the sun was HUGE and everything was orange-pink. I guess the sun seemed so big because of the cold but I don't know exactly what was the cause of it. So on Sunday I went to photograph swans and that magnificent sunset by the sea...which is obviously frozen. To stay warm the swans, I guess about 200-300 of them, keep swimming in one small area to leave the water open. People come to see and photograph them and leave them some food.

Thankfully most of the people now know that it isn't good to feed them white bread and they had scattered some sort of wheat products over the ice. The swans loved it.

The light was really glorious and I was just happy snapping away pics (took 422 pics total in that one hour :P). Don't worry, I made a strict cut and you will only see 47 of them ;) Will post the rest of them tomorrow as it would be too much for one post LOL

Saw this swan at the very last minute so I wasn't able to catch decent shots.

The water droplets looked especially good in this light :)

Frozen :S It was around -20C that day

More pics tomorrow with even better light so be sure to subscribe to my blog if you don't want to miss them. Just reminding you of the new option that I have on top of the page and on the right side now, it's Subscribe by email.

Thanks for watching! :)

Mariann

It's cold!

2011-02-16T15:06:00.000+02:00

I've spent too much time behind my computer lately and was getting so bored of it! So I was really happy when hubby invited me to a little trip to Riga (Latvia) on Friday. It was a quick business trip and we decided to spend the rest of the weekend with my mom in the country. Actually it's a pretty little town but it feels like being in the country.
I'll start from the beginning. This is what the weather looked like when we were driving to Riga.

I couldn't tell the difference between the ground and the sky.

Luckily the clouds cleared and we got to enjoy a sunny weekend. It has gotten really cold though, about -15C on Saturday and Sunday, -19C on Monday. Normally I hate going out in really cold temperatures like -20 or more but this time I finally realised that it's not cold when you have the right clothes! Took me long enough to understand it! LOL Nice long and thick pantyhose under the jeans did the trick ;)

Now, some of you might remember this cute dog.

She is my mom's dog Scrappy. REALLY playful and cute doggy! :D It doesn't matter what the temperature is outside, she still wants to go out and play in the snow!

Actually I think out of all the seasons she loves winter the most. She is originally from Spain so I guess this is exotic for her ;)

There's a river that runs next to my mom's house and because of the cold it was almost completely frozen.

Cute little bunny tracks everywhere! :)

Since Scrappy loves catching snow and ice so much I decided to do a photoshoot about her and try to capture her cheerful nature. Can you tell how much she loves this? :D

Look at the claws in this pic! :D

Cute paws!!

She really can go on and on and probably would NEVER get tired! :D Us humans are the ones that get bored easily. Maybe we should learn to be more childlike? :)

The light was great for catching the snow that was flying around her.

Cute tale in this one :P

Solid ice in the mouth! :D

Rub it in! Haha

Every once and awhile you have to strike a pose! ;)

After the play we headed back home to fill our bellies. My mom's hubby is a GREAT cook and here are pics of the wonderful meals we had at their place. :P

Can you see the heart shape in the smoke? :P

We had been driving around in the countryside during the weekend and had seen many foxes and roe deer but never really got an opportunity to get close. Why you ask? Well, I guess I somewhat explained it earlier that I've always thought that going out to photograph wildlife in winter would be too cold. So I haven't invested in clothes that would camouflage me in winter time and I had a bright red ski jacket on!! :D Laugh all you want, I'm laughing at myself too ;) Nature photographer! LOL

However I know that roe deer can let you come close even if you are in red :) The key is to walk quickly but quietly to get closer and stop whenever they lift their head and look around. When they see you walking it's all over. I didn't get really close but just decent enough to snap some pics.

This one was standing on a hay ball, trying to brake it with it's front feet.

Wheee! :D

Okay, so we still have LOTS of snow.

But look what hubby got me for Valentine's Day - Spring!! :D

Until next time :)

Mariann

Chocolate mousse

2011-02-03T19:36:00.000+02:00

I wanted to tell (and show) you about some of the delicious desserts I've been eating/making lately :)

I guess it all started with this cake photo that I uploaded to my Etsy shop the other day.

I photographed this in an italian restaurant. I was hired to design their website and photograph the interior of the place. That also included photographing food. :) Now it may sound simple but taking good photos of food is not easy at all. For this picture I used a gold reflector to bounce back the light from the window. It worked great for this cake and gave it a nice golden glow. I also used shallow depth of field which means that only the important part of the image is sharp and the rest is out of focus. I was enjoying and concentrating on my work so much that only after I had gone home I realised I didn't even taste the cake!! I did taste some of their main dishes but totally forgot about the cake. This doesn't happen often to me as I am a sweet tooth! LOL

Moving on. The other day I saw on TV how one cook had made chocolate mousse and decided to give it a go myself :P What do you think? Did I succeed?

It sure tasted good! :D
Here's a recipe if you want to try as well. It's really easy.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chocolate mousse

120g of chocolate
4 eggs
4 tbs of liquor

Melt the chocolate and add 4 tbs of liquor (you can also add coffee). Stir in the egg yolks. Whip the egg whites in a medium bowl until they are foamy and beginning to hold a shape. You can add a little bit of salt to speed up the process. Now gently fold in the egg whites to the chocolate mixture. Be careful not to overdo it. Spoon the mousse into individual serving bowls and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I couldn't wait for 8 hours of course so I tried mine after about 2. :)

Something I also ate last week was a mandarin cake :P One of our friends had a birthday and we got him this amazing cake. Don't know exactly what was in it but it sure tasted good! :)

Did I get your juices flowing? ;)

P.S. Don't miss out on my next post, it could be as delicious as this one was ;) Scroll to the top and enter your email address to the Subscribe via email section on the right hand side.

Comments are loved, as always! :)

Free desktop calendar for February 2011

2011-01-31T17:11:00.005+02:00

Sunny winter days are so beautiful! Cold... but beautiful! :)

Please share this free desktop calendar with your friends! And please donate if you enjoy viewing it as much as I enjoyed making it! :) Thank you!

I've made 2 sizes that are most popular!

Size: NORMAL (1600 x 1200 px) 4:3

Size: WIDE (1920 x 1080 px) 16:9

1. click on the image to enlarge
2. right click on the enlarged image and choose “Save Image As”
3. Browse your computer and choose a location to save image.
4. Click “Save”

To install the desktop calendar
once it has been downloaded to your computer,
locate the image(wherever you saved it)
Right click on the photo
select
“Set as desktop background”.

Enjoy!

P.S. Comments are loved! :)

Free desktop calendar for January 2011

2011-01-03T22:53:00.005+02:00

Happy New Year! :))) I hope it brings you everything you have ever dreamed of and more!

I am sticking to my Free desktop calendars posts this year and hope you enjoy this winter scene with a cute marsh tit!

Feel free to spread the word about this free desktop calendar! And please donate if you enjoy viewing it as much as I enjoyed making it! :) Thank you!

I've made 2 sizes that are most popular!

Size: NORMAL (1600 x 1200 px) 4:3

Size: WIDE (1920 x 1080 px) 16:9

1. click on the image to enlarge
2. right click on the enlarged image and choose “Save Image As”
3. Browse your computer and choose a location to save image.
4. Click “Save”

Free desktop calendar for December 2010

2010-11-30T18:08:00.006+02:00

A proper winter scene with cute little dwarfs that were drawn by a talented artist and my mom Reet Rea. :)

Feel free to spread the word about this free desktop calendar! Thank you!

I've made 2 sizes that are most popular!

Size: NORMAL (1600 x 1200 px) 4:3

Size: WIDE (1920 x 1080 px) 16:9

You can download this wallpaper for free. You can also do some good and donate either $1 or $5 to help me keep these pictures coming. It's not much but it's your choice! Thank you! :)
Here's how you get this image to your desktop:

1. click on the image to enlarge
2. right click on the enlarged image and choose “Save Image As”
3. Browse your computer and choose a location to save image.
4. Click “Save”

Looking for a pretty and interesting calendar for next year? You've fund it!

High quality Wildlife calendar for 2011.

Size: A4
Printed in a print shop onto high quality satin paper.
Spiral binding

How is my calendar different from others?
I have a special corner on every page where I have gathered valuable information about the animal or bird of that particular month. Fun and interesting reading for all and a good education for kids!

Order yours now!

Sales Sales and more sales :D

2010-11-26T15:30:00.014+02:00

For everyone who loves to get great deals you probably know that this Friday is THE day, it's time for a Black Friday Sale and oh so many shops are having sales this weekend. So am I! :) And in two different stores too!

First my Etsy store

From Friday 26.11. to Monday evening 29.11 I

have reduced the prices by 10% on everything in my shop. Here are some of the items.

Grey Horse Print

$35.00 USD $31.50 USD

Wildlife calendar for 2011

$22.00 USD $19.80 USD

I recently added some new pendants with my photos too.

$7.00 USD $6.30 USD

Please visit my shop to get the full view http://www.etsy.com/shop/littlefoxphotos

The prices that you see in Etsy have already been reduced. You can see the discount on the etsyonsale.com page too if you like.

'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'

The second is my Redbubble store. There are many different sales going on.

15% Off All Mens And Womens Tees & Hoodies

Within our huge range of Christmas t-shirt presents, there's bound to be the perfect gift idea.

Here are some of my t-shirts for sale

Was: $23.44Now: $19.93 each

Greeting Cards - Save 30% When You Buy 16

Don't forget to send grandma a greeting card - all our cards have a 30% discount when you buy 16 or more.

All of my images can also be bought as greeting cards and I currently have over 250 images for sale so there is a lot to choose from. But here are some Holiday cards for you.

$2.34 each
20% discount if you buy 8
30% discount if you buy 16

$1.88 each
20% discount if you buy 8
30% discount if you buy 16

$2.34 each
20% discount if you buy 8
30% discount if you buy 16

$1.88 each
20% discount if you buy 8
30% discount if you buy 16

15% Off All Canvas & Framed Prints
Find the artwork that is the perfect artwork gift, and have it delivered in time for Christmas.

Was: $66.98Now: $56.93 each

Was: $111.63Now: $94.88 each

So there will be lots to choose from and I hope you have fun doing it! :)

Free desktop calendar for November 2010

2010-11-01T11:52:00.004+02:00

Warm and cosy free desktop calendar for November! When it's dark and gloomy outside you desktop will be warm and inviting! :)

Feel free to spread the word about this free desktop calendar! Thank you!

I've made 2 sizes that are most popular!

Size: NORMAL (1600 x 1200 px) 4:3

Size: WIDE (1920 x 1080 px) 16:9

1. click on the image to enlarge
2. right click on the enlarged image and choose “Save Image As”
3. Browse your computer and choose a location to save image.
4. Click “Save”

Wildlife calendar for 2011

2010-10-26T17:23:00.005+03:00

Hey all! :)

Looking for a pretty and interesting calendar for next year? You've fund it!

You can also win one for free!

For one week only until the 1st of November I will sell the calendar at a lower price of $20 because this is a pre order and I will start shipping the calendars at the end of next week and not before.
If you buy one during this week, you will be entered into the drawing and you could receive your money back! If you buy two or more then the chance of winning will greatly increase!
Please read more about the quality of the calendar and order yours now! Thank you! :)

Order yours now!

Free desktop calendar for October 2010

2010-09-30T16:04:00.005+03:00

Here comes the free desktop calendar for October! And naturally it's the fly agaric which just looks so good in a green forest. We have had loads of mushrooms this year :)

Feel free to spread the word about this free desktop calendar! Thank you!

I've made 2 sizes so that the picture would fit to every monitor!
NEW: I have also created versions of european calendar where the week begins from Monday!

American version

Size: NORMAL (1362 x 1024 px)

Size: WIDE (1536 x 1024 px)

European version

Size: NORMAL (1362 x 1024 px)

Size: WIDE (1536 x 1024 px)

1. click on the image to enlarge
2. right click on the enlarged image and choose “Save Image As”
3. Browse your computer and choose a location to save image.
4. Click “Save”

Hearts

2010-09-27T18:05:00.004+03:00

I have been photographing a lot of hearts lately ;) And was thinking of opening a new shop in Etsy just for heart prints. What do you think?

These are rowan tree berries.

And the black berries are from a juniper :)

Lemons? No ;) Apples? No :) These are Chaenomeles fruits. See the Wikipedia for more.

These are wild grapes that have taken over one of our houses :S

Plums :) :P

For all the wine lovers out there ;)

So, do you think I should upload them to my existing Etsy shop or make a new one just for heart prints? Please comment :)

All those cute little birdies :))

2010-09-27T16:51:00.009+03:00

Spent the weekend in the country again :) No wild animals this time but lots and lots of cute little birdies!!! I'm gonna start off with this cutie - long-tailed tit. They are so much fun to watch with their cute little faces and loooong tails :D

In the middle of photographing them I saw some kind of a falcon up in the sky and had to quickly decide who I'm gonna shoot LOL Made the right call and stuck with my little ones ;) I mean, is there anything cuter than long-tailed tits? :) I wish one would sit on my shoulder all the time!!

How small can a bird's beak really be?? How can she eat with that?! LOL

Nice autumn colours ;)

This is also a small bird - jenny wren. I haven't seen one in my garden before. Loved that funny tail and the pretty song she sang :) Those poses are great too! :D

Now some of you know already that I have two ginkgo bilobas growing in my garden! :) I have been really obsessed with them lately and am so happy they love living in my garden! :) Ginkgos, also known as Maidenhair trees, are the oldest trees alive, living fossils you could say. You can read all about them from Wikipedia.

Don't those leaves have a stunning shape?

Some autumn colours from an apple tree too ;)

We were tiding out in our back yard and throwing away old and useless things when I found this! I think it's a deer or something...

I love calendulas! They are so bright and pretty! :)

Drum roll please!! This is our first parsnip that has grown into a decent vegetable! :D I feel really proud and a little sad to have to eat it LOL

Show-off, haha! ;)

Free desktop calendar for September 2010

2010-08-31T23:14:00.005+03:00

It's time for another free desktop calendar for September! I have chosen a summery road in light fog and I've added an artistic filter to it to enhance the mood of the picture.

Feel free to spread the word about this free desktop calendar! Thank you!

I've made 2 sizes so that the picture would fit to every monitor!
NEW: I have also created versions of european calendar where the week begins from Monday!

American version

Size: NORMAL (1706 x 1280 px)

Size: WIDE (1920 x 1280 px)

European version

Size: NORMAL (1706 x 1280 px)

Size: WIDE (1920 x 1280 px)

You can download this wallpaper for free. You can also do some good and donate either $1 or $5 to help me keep these pictures coming. It's not much but it's your choice!
Here's how you get this image to your desktop:

1. click on the image to enlarge
2. right click on the enlarged image and choose “Save Image As”
3. Browse your computer and choose a location to save image.
4. Click “Save”

Vote for the best photo

2010-08-31T23:05:00.003+03:00

There is a competition that needs your vote - Energizer Ultimate photo contest.

I have not entered this time but it is worth a look because of the stunning images there.

This is only one of them, you can see more at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pictela

Hubby's 40th Birthday party!

2010-08-28T22:00:00.011+03:00

So my hubby is turning 40 on the 1st of September but we already decided to have a party on the 20th of August. It's a national holiday too so we were hoping that a lot of people can come. And they did!! About 50 people showed up! :D Now let me show you the place where we had the party - it's simply AMAZING! But bare with me, this is a long blog post with lots of pretty pics ;)

We found this place on the internet in the beginning of summer and booked it immediately. It's located in the centre of Estonia right beside a big lake and was built a few years ago.

Birthday boy admiring the bright colours of the pool :)

There are also 2 other houses besides the main house where people can sleep and every house has a sauna :P

The guests are arriving, time to open up the champagne :P

That trampoline was great! I had fun on it the next day with my sisters :D

We were SO lucky with the weather because it had been raining before and it did the next day but not on THE day :)) Of course I paid the weather guy a lot too LOL

We had rented two boats for the evening, one was a quiet and slow boat and the other one was going tooo fast for me :S I didn't go on it but seeing it speed away with the people I love on it was a bit hmmm....

Meanwhile the ones that stayed behind were enjoying life to the fullest too :) This swing was an amazing place to be, I didn't want to leave! Imagine a quiet summers evening, a million dollar view, good company and a swing where you could lie down, ahhhhh!

Balloons, balloons, where are you heading?

They seemed to be organized LOL probably having a meeting of some sort :)

And then the evening came and they turned on the pool lights!!! I have to say amazing for the third time already :D

Still pretty the very next morning, maybe even prettier if that's even possible :)

My little sister coming to say good morning straight from bed :)

She is cute anyway but she was tooo cute that morning, still sleepy and warm :)

We found an interesting rock by the lake.

When everyone left I had a look at the suite, we didn't use it but I wanted to see it and I loved the bathroom.

I seriously don't remember the last time when I was this happy and had such a good time!!! :)))