Ptarmigan populations vary greatly from year to year. Some years there are large numbers of them. Other years, it is difficult to observe a single one. Last winter was a good year. I was looking for lynx in the beautiful boreal forest.

While my first day was very unsuccessful, I came across 2 ptarmigans at the end of the day. Seen from above, it's very easy to pass by without even realizing they're there. But when we position ourselves at the level of the animal, this reveals its silhouette as well as the magnificent colors of the background.

The aperture of 2.8 allowed me to blur the background well, the speed of 1/1000s allowed me to freeze my movement as well as that of the bird in case it moved, and the sensitivity varied according to the 2 other parameters. Although the subject is white, the brightness is generally lower in winter and you have to make some compromises sometimes.

• Hardware: Nikon Z6ii   Nikkor400mm f2.8 FL
• Exif: ISO 400 – f2.8 – 1/1000s