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Wiebke
@lilleulven.bsky.social
450 followers 800 following 67 posts
Book lover, photographer, developer, adventurer …
My photos live at lilleulven.smugmug.com
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White silence. Green moss.
Kukerland’s quietest guardians come to life again.
✨ Read: tinyurl.com/White-Silence
White Silence
Through snow-covered mountain roads, we journey to Brezhani in search of Bulgaria's winter traditions. Here, during the Kuker festival, the Babuger – towering masked figures – step from legend into li...
tinyurl.com
November 27, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Got some very exciting mail today 😄📸
My feature “Lie of the Land” is out in Outdoor Photography Magazine (Issue 324)!

Turns out even the most photographed landscapes still have a few secrets left…
if you’re patient enough to look.

Pretty happy about this ✨
@outdoorphotographymag
#photography
November 22, 2025 at 6:28 PM
From workshops to winding roads — Kukerland’s traditions come alive through skill, laughter, and a bit of chaos.
✨ Read: tinyurl.com/Kukerland
Stunning Craftsmanship and Crazy Roads
Today, we are leaving Kolarovo behind—at least for now. We are heading north toward Sofia, yet without reaching the capital. But before that, we have some time left—time Ivo suggests we use to try and...
tinyurl.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Some days are journeys of their own: fog at sunrise, pyramids at noon, and a waterfall’s song by evening. 🌲❄️💦

The Sentinel Tree watched it all → lilleulven.smugmug.com/Blog/Bulgari...
#WinterJourney #PirinMagic #NatureStories #SentinelTree
The Sentinel Tree and Winter Journeys
Join a winter journey through Bulgaria’s Pirin Mountains – from misty valleys at sunrise to sandstone pyramids and rushing waterfalls.
lilleulven.smugmug.com
October 25, 2025 at 8:09 AM
When a tree becomes a sentinel, valleys turn into seas of fog, and waterfalls sing — that’s winter in the Pirin foothills. 🌄💦
#WinterJourney #PirinMagic #NatureStories #SentinelTree
October 16, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Meet the Babugeri of Kolarovo: wild masks, ancient rituals, and a village tradition unlike any other.
✨ Blog story here: tinyurl.com/Babuger

#Babugeri #BulgarianCulture #Tradition
Babugeri of Kolarovo
Today, we plan to capture breathtaking landscapes at a nearby waterfall. Later in the afternoon, Ivo arranged another photo shoot with a local Kuker group. But will things go as planned?
tinyurl.com
October 10, 2025 at 9:40 AM
New #blog story now live!

A breakdown. A stranger. A quiet valley in winter.
What began as a logistical problem turned into a journey filled with unexpected generosity, breathtaking silence, and soft light over the hills of #Kukerland.

Join me for this winter adventure!

👉 tinyurl.com/bdzf9c6b
Signs, Surprises, and Strangers
Between breakdown and beauty: A winter journey through Kukerland filled with unexpected help, poetic landscapes, and moments that still echo.
lilleulven.smugmug.com
September 20, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Sometimes, the unexpected is exactly where the story begins.
One winter day in Bulgaria, a breakdown turned into something much more — and the journey that followed was filled with silence, kindness, and surprises.
✨ New photo story coming soon.
📍 #Kukerland, Southwest Bulgaria

#BulgariaInWinter
Elevated view over the village of General Todorov, with rooftops, railway tracks, agricultural fields, and mountains in the background.
September 12, 2025 at 2:58 PM
A mask from the past — or a creature from the future? ✨
This Kuker shows how tradition can be timeless and surprising.

👉 Blog link: lilleulven.smugmug.com/Blog/Bulgari...
A Bulgarian Kuker in a striking fur costume and futuristic mask, standing against a vivid blue wall. A portrait that blends ancient tradition with science-fiction flair.
August 24, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Between earth and sky, where colours burn bright, the Kukeri stand timeless.
This was the first step of my #Kukerland journey — a beginning wrapped in fur, bells, and stories older than memory. Before new chapters unfold this autumn, I want to glance back at where it all began.
Link ⬇️
A Bulgarian Kuker in a striking fur costume and futuristic mask, standing against a vivid blue wall. A portrait that blends ancient tradition with science-fiction flair.
August 21, 2025 at 8:42 PM
🐐 New on the blog: “Kolarovo – Where Boys Become Guardians”

In the snow-dusted landscape of southern Bulgaria, ancient spirits still walk. (1/4)
Link in Comments!
Kolarovo - Where Boys become Guardians
Kolarovo – Where Boys Become Guardians | Kukeri Photo Essay In the Bulgarian village of Kolarovo, a group of boys don masks and fur to become Kukeri—spirit guardians warding off winter. A photographic...
lilleulven.smugmug.com
July 1, 2025 at 3:15 PM
I just published another blog post about my visit to Kukerland:

Winter waits in the hills of Bulgaria, where masked spirits awaken in doorways and shadows. A journey through ritual, silence, and storytelling.

lilleulven.smugmug.com/Blog/Bulgari...

#photoblog
Where Winter Waits and Masks Wake
Winter waits in the hills of Bulgaria, where masked spirits awaken in doorways and shadows. A journey through ritual, silence, and storytelling.
lilleulven.smugmug.com
May 15, 2025 at 6:52 PM
I finally published another story of my Visiting Kukerland adventure.
Today, we plan to capture breathtaking landscapes at a nearby waterfall. Later in the afternoon, Ivo arranged another photo shoot with a local Kuker group. But will things go as planned?
lilleulven.smugmug.com/Blog/Bulgari...
Babugeri of Kolarovo
Today, we plan to capture breathtaking landscapes at a nearby waterfall. Later in the afternoon, Ivo arranged another photo shoot with a local Kuker group. But will things go as planned?
lilleulven.smugmug.com
March 13, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Under the spell of the mummer

This impressive portrait of a Kuker, whose costume is a masterful blend of fur, wood, and a goat skull mask, serves as a powerful connection between humanity and the natural world.
#PhotographersUnited #Bulgaria #VisitingKukerland #Portrait #tradition #mystic #Simitli
This impressive portrait of a Kuker, whose costume is a masterful blend of fur, wood, and a goat skull mask, serves as a powerful connection between humanity and the natural world. The vivid blue wall highlights the figure's magnificence, while the hand-carved staff and the costume's meticulously crafted details play a crucial role in bringing to life the rich tradition and symbolism of the custom. It's an image that speaks volumes about its mystique and cultural depth. Kuker is dressed in the skin of a long-haired goat, wearing a skull mask with two horns. He wears several metal bells on his belt. In his right hand, he holds a wooden staff with a goat's skull, long hair, and some horns.
February 8, 2025 at 2:51 PM
I have just posted the first article of a new adventure story from my travels, Visiting Kukerland. During this trip, I will explore the rich history of the Kuker traditions and see their stunning, intricate masks for the first time.

lilleulven.smugmug.com/Blog/Bulgari...
Bulgaria - Visiting Kukerland
The stories from my 2024 Visiting Kukerland adventure. I'll take you on a tour to a Kuker festival, get to know some of the Kuker groups, and, of course, go through some stunning landscapes of Bulgari...
lilleulven.smugmug.com
January 29, 2025 at 4:16 PM
New Rhodopean Adventure blog post. This time, we are trying to reach the lakes for the third and final time of this tour. But before heading out, we are again going on a pre-breakfast hike. This time, we are going to explore the Melnik pyramids.

lilleulven.smugmug.com/Blog/Bulgari...
Third time luck reaching the Lakes?
Today, we will make a third and last attempt to reach the Lakes. Will we finally make it? But before we leave Melnik, there will be some more hiking.
lilleulven.smugmug.com
January 22, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Of you are looking for photographers follow, @sbgphotography.bsky.social has some curated starter packs :)
sbgphotography.bsky.social South of the Border Gringo @sbgphotography.bsky.social · Jan 22
Thanks for the follow!

I will add you to my SBG Photography Starter Pack #4 (personally curated) so that other folks find you too.

Please click follow all Starter Packs 1,2,3,&4 so that others can participate as well.

Also help spread the love by resharing the link below.

Greetings from Chile!👋
sbgphotography.bsky.social South of the Border Gringo @sbgphotography.bsky.social · Jan 18
I am excited that SBG Photography #StarterPack (SP) 1,2,3 ARE FULL w/450 photographers!

If you are not in a SBG SP, the 1st step is to ➡️Follow Me⬅️

PLEASE FOLLOW ALL & RESHARE 4 STARTER PACKS.
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#2 go.bsky.app/UwGZPzv
#3 go.bsky.app/HVbmH4i
#4 go.bsky.app/Um41jqd ⬅️Now Boarding
January 22, 2025 at 5:53 AM
I have just posted another article on my blog (link below).
On this day of the adventure, the weather again decides where we go. However, before we leave the area entirely, we will visit the market in Bansko to see if we can do some street photography.

lilleulven.smugmug.com/Blog/Bulgari...
Bansko and then the Lakes?
Today is another day when the weather decides where and when we go. But before we leave the area entirely, we will visit the market in Bansko—maybe I can learn some street photography.
lilleulven.smugmug.com
January 15, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Happy Christmas and a happy new year!
Blue Hour at the town hall of Bremen from November this year.
December 24, 2024 at 5:07 PM
I have just published another #blog post on my Rhodopean tour.
Today, we are starting with yet another breathtaking sunrise shooting. After this awe-inspiring start, we'll enjoy our breakfast. Later, we'll move to a small mountain village in the #Rhodopes...
lilleulven.smugmug.com/Blog/Bulgari...
Small mountain villages
Leaving Trigrad behind, but not before shooting the sunrise, we are going to visit a small mountain village with a view toward the Pirin mountains.
lilleulven.smugmug.com
December 18, 2024 at 8:12 PM
Today, we had some car driving planned, so we decided that we would only go out to shoot the sunrise if we both woke up in time without setting the alarm. Neither of us is awake before 7 a.m., early enough for our road trip :)

lilleulven.smugmug.com/Blog/Bulgari...

#blog #travel #bulgaria
The day we almost died, happily
Today, we are starting our road trip through the Rhodope and Pirin Mountains by visiting the Trigrad Gorge and Devil's Throat.
lilleulven.smugmug.com
December 11, 2024 at 5:08 PM
A stunning photograph from @armandsarlangue.bsky.social
armandsarlangue.bsky.social Armand Sarlangue @armandsarlangue.bsky.social · Dec 6
Layers of Alaska… From an unforgettable helicopter flight above endless Ice fields in southern AK. The atmosphere comes from smokes in the air, due to distant summer wildfires.

#photography #bluesky #nature #landscape #landscapephotography #naturephotograohy
December 6, 2024 at 7:09 PM
A stunning capture of the winter mountains and the Milky Way by @markstewarr.bsky.social
markstewarr.bsky.social Mark stewart @markstewarr.bsky.social · Dec 4
The road to winter in the pnw feels like a long one this year. #pnw #wawx
December 4, 2024 at 6:42 PM
I have just published another part of my adventure story from the Rhodopean Explorer tour. This time, we start early with a visit to an abandoned village at sunrise and stay up late for a hiking tour in the Rhodope Mountains.
I hope you enjoy: lilleulven.smugmug.com/Blog/Bulgari...
#Blog #travel
Visiting an abandoned village
Another adventurous day of my Rhodope Explorer Tour. Yesterday, we started the day photographing the sunrise and later added a lovely cascading river to the itinerary to return home late at night. Tod...
lilleulven.smugmug.com
December 4, 2024 at 6:38 PM
When you don't bring your camera because you have other duties to fulfill, you get the most beautiful light.
For once I remembered that my phone has a camera too 🤣
November 17, 2024 at 7:44 PM