Cheeky Squirrel
While camping at Shuswap, I put some broken up peanuts on my knee for a rather curious squirrel. He sat on my knee several times to eat during my time there. I ...
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While camping at Shuswap, I put some broken up peanuts on my knee for a rather curious squirrel. He sat on my knee several times to eat during my time there. I somehow managed to capture a photo of him where he appears to be smiling at me.
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Sep, 2016Views
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Awards
Top Shot Award 21
2020 Choice Award
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Superb Composition
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at the Shuswap Lake Provincial Park campground. I broke up a couple peanuts and put them on my knee and positioned my lens where I knew the squirrel would come and sit. The angle and zoom were set ahead of time because the squirrel would leave if I moved while it was on me.Time
This was taken in the early evening hours when I was sitting around the campfire with my family. Although, I had my back to it, particularly for warmth, but mostly to make luring the squirrel to me much easier since it would not be as intimidated by a fire and people behind its back.Lighting
The sun was in the right place at the right time. This photo was taken on an iPhone 6s, but I did not use the flash for obvious reasons.Equipment
This was shot on an iPhone 6s.Inspiration
One of my favourite things to photograph is animals and wildlife, so when a squirrel became comfortable enough with me to sit on my knee and eat, I took advantage of what felt like a rare opportunity.Editing
I did not do anything with this photo, other than using Instagram to enhance several little things.In my camera bag
So far, all of my photos are taken on iPod Touch, iPhone 5s, and iPhone 6s. All I will have with me is my current mobile device at the time the photo is taken.Feedback
For a prey animal, it helps immensely if you can allow it to become comfortable with you prior to taking the photo. In this case, it took about a day. Since rodents such as this tend to be skittish to some degree, predicting where it will be and lining up the shot before it appears, so there is little to no movement from you when actually taking the photo, helps to capture the animal almost as if you are not even there.
