Having a Scratch
Female Red Squirrel, Lake District, UK.
Female Red Squirrel, Lake District, UK.
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Jan, 2016Views
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TimMoor
November 12, 2020
Thanks. It was not that long on the day, instead it was more about observing her habits over a period of time to try and predict where she might go
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo of a female red squirrel was taken in the North West Lake District, UK.Time
About 9:30am in the morningLighting
I was limited to choices as the focus was to capture the squirrel's face while she was having a scratch and it was up to the subject when she chose to appear on the tree. I prefer natural light source and the canopy of the tree only let shafts of light through, but this is the Lake district and there was cloud cover also which provided a fairly uniform light source.Equipment
Canon 5D MKIII, Canon EF 100-400 lens, no flash, no tripod (handheld)Inspiration
I love red squirrels, always have. Sadly they are an endangered species primarily thanks to the introduction of the grey squirrel but there are few pockets within the UK where they still live. The Lake District is one of them. Having watched the behavior of the squirrels for many years, I wanted to try and capture a squirrel in the wild doing something natural in a picture that I have not seen before.Editing
I used Lightroom to increase the light level slightlyIn my camera bag
Depends what I am aiming to shoot. If it is landscapes, my kit will include a tripod, ND Grad filters including a Lee big stopper. If it is animals, it will include a lot of luck!Feedback
Research and plan the shot to try and limit the variables. I lived in the Lake District and got chance to study the patterns of the red squirrels in the area and noticed they tended to be creatures of habit. I found that each morning about 8:30am - 9:30am this particular red squirrel would enjoy climbing the oak tree to rest on a particular branch. The tree acted almost like a pit stop for her in between foraging for food. I planned where I could stand that would not be on her path which would give the best chance of seeing her face when she started to have a stretch and scratch. I stood behind a neighbouring tree that had a branch where I could rest my arm and camera that allowed for movement as the squirrel moved up and down the branch. Put the camera into silent shoot mode and waited, hoping the squirrel would have a pit stop on her preferred branch of the oak tree facing towards the camera in favourable light. I appreciate that I could have placed food onto the branch to let the experience last a little longer but I was worried that may have altered her behavior and I might not have achieved capturing the unusual shot of her having a scratch. I wanted the shot to show a red squirrel's natural behavior in their natural habitat.
