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Wild living young European ground squirrels seem to be interested in that flower - letting our imagination play we ca...
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More on https:--facebook.com-fotomat
Wild living young European ground squirrels seem to be interested in that flower - letting our imagination play we can think of them speaking words...but which words?
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Wild living young European ground squirrels seem to be interested in that flower - letting our imagination play we can think of them speaking words...but which words?
Read less
Views
7061
Likes
Awards
Action Award
Contender in the Visual Poetry Project
Contest Finalist in Earth Day Photo Contest 2022
Contest Finalist in Tenderness Photo Contest
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Superior Skill
Genius
Virtuoso
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adonahue11
April 23, 2017
This takes nothing but patients to get shots like this. Absolutely amazing. You have a great eye for this. Love them!
indyjordan
June 07, 2017
I just read about your love for these little guys in PhotoPlus, June 2017. Funny that it was my wife who found your work in Viewbug. Count us as 2 followers.
HenrikSpranz
August 23, 2018
Yes - it's real :). Sent it to some nature photo contests where you need to provide the RAW file as well. It's the result of many hundreds of hours of trying.
Baile963
August 25, 2018
This is the best photo I have seen all day!! I hope you are proud of this shot!
stripe97266
August 09, 2023
Saw this in the Poetry In Motion contest and just wanted to say that I think this should have been number one. Just perfect.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This shot was taken on a meadow near Vienna where these cute little fellows live. I'm an amateur nature photographer, but I'm passionate and try to roam nature every weekend.Time
As the European ground squirrels (Spermophilus) don't get up that early I visit them after macro shooting at sunrise at about 8am to still have usable light.Lighting
Hard light wouldn't get you a good photo here - so morning light or a clouded sky can help a lot so you can still control your exposure and get all the details of the fur, a nice reflection in the eye and a soft overall impact.Equipment
This shot was taken with a Canon 5d Mk iii, and a Canon 400/2.8 L IS and a bean bag.Inspiration
First of all I really love this members of an endangered species and I try to help them as well, because their habitats sometimes are still in danger and their numbers get less. So I use these pictures as well to get exposure for them and their situation and motivate people to sign petitions to help them. It's a pleasure to watch them and it's very easy to see human like mimics in their faces and they always put a smile on my face. The best shots are when they are interacting with something like their food - and eating is a very important business for them :) or even with each other - like here. And when they're posing so perfectly like here I'm going home grinning like a Cheshire cat.Editing
I always do some base processing in Lightroom as I always shoot in RAW format. I adjust the white balance there, equalize the histogram a little, do lens corrections and crop the photo. Exported to Photoshop I use the tonal correction, some dodge&burn techniques, probably do some minor adjustments like sharpening or increasing saturation but I avoid retouching my photos and they are *no* composites.In my camera bag
Canon 5d Mkiii, Canon 16-35/4 L IS, Canon 50/1.4, Canon 135/2 L, Canon 180/3.5 L macro, Canon 400/2.8 L IS USM, bean bag, Sirui and Berlebach tripods, reflectors and diffusors, gradient filters, polarization filterFeedback
In nature photography - especially when doing wild life shots - you need patience, but you need to be on guard to use situations like this for a photo. Practice using your tele lenses in fast action situations. Doing a lot of water ski slalom photos in the past helped a lot to take this photo and don't miss the opportunity. Practicing helps to improve your technical skills, but it's good to also reflect your work frequently. There's always room for improvement and watching other photographers' work helps a lot too - not to copy their work, but to ask yourself what you like in their images and find a way to achieve that or something similar