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A wild living European Hamster seems to have noticed something behind me. More on http:--facebook.com-fotomat

A wild living European Hamster seems to have noticed something behind me. More on http:--facebook.com-fotomat
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1952

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Awards

Exposure and more
Contest Finalist in Covers Photo Contest Vol 38
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
dantaylor_3680 zoolhakeemabdullah Antoniobarrios chrisgaramvlgyi stefanbracke throughmycamera jirfren +30
Top Choice
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Superb Composition
ManonPhotography natalijabnv cynthiasphoto WendysPhotos colinjdavidson RobinV beeoxierrod +22
Magnificent Capture
Free-Spirit geophotos catherinethompson JanetDaniel RAYD2B MarthaConnor PSD9253 +7
Outstanding Creativity
AnitaMulder shannynstull jimeier anthonymannion Pacintosh JB-Photography JRPEAL +3
Superior Skill
Geesdigital glendagriffith Deb-Deb edwardquinlanfleet sallyG11 auksx lazanzarapazza +2
All Star
noneoftheabove KenyaJaxon hiyahercfarm DavidRoush Badgrandad kiwidragonfly ReneeBlake
Virtuoso
LizardEyePhotography georgeclevy ChitoAguilar DWOZ Tommyshot
Genius
shellymaan Rachellsphotography2020 pranaypictures michaelfmoore

Top Ranks

Expressive Faces Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Expressive Faces Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Wildlife Photo Contest 2018Top 10 rank
Wildlife Photo Contest 2018Top 10 rank week 1
Wildlife Photo Contest 2017Top 10 rank
Wildlife Photo Contest 2017Top 10 rank week 1
Covers Photo Contest Vol 38Top 20 rank
Covers Photo Contest Vol 38Top 20 rank week 1
Social Exposure Photo Contest Vol 7Top 10 rank
Covers Photo Contest Vol 37Top 20 rank
Social Exposure Photo Contest Vol 7Top 10 rank week 1
Covers Photo Contest Vol 37Top 20 rank week 2
Covers Photo Contest Vol 37Top 20 rank week 1
Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 20Top 10 rank
Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 20Top 10 rank week 2
Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 20Top 10 rank week 1
I Love Photography Photo ContestTop 20 rank
I Love Photography Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1

Categories


15 Comments |
Siamesecatman
 
Siamesecatman March 02, 2017
Lovely capture
HenrikSpranz PRO
HenrikSpranz March 03, 2017
Thank you!
cherylglew
 
cherylglew March 12, 2017
Awesome capture Henrik !
HenrikSpranz PRO
HenrikSpranz March 13, 2017
Thanks a lot Cheryl! :)
kathyk_abq
 
kathyk_abq May 16, 2017
hahaha! I love the caption! Love all of your work - great capture!
HenrikSpranz PRO
HenrikSpranz May 18, 2017
Thank you Kathy! :)
Witmar
 
Witmar June 06, 2017
great shot
HenrikSpranz PRO
HenrikSpranz June 23, 2017
Thank you Witmar! :)
JDLifeshots
 
JDLifeshots June 27, 2017
Awesome capture! Congrats.
HenrikSpranz PRO
HenrikSpranz June 27, 2017
Thanks a lot! :)
kathyk_abq
 
kathyk_abq June 27, 2017
congrats on your Covers win - I love your work! :)
HenrikSpranz PRO
HenrikSpranz June 30, 2017
Thanks so much Kathy! :)
PSD9253
 
PSD9253 June 28, 2017
Great Shot....Well done!
HenrikSpranz PRO
HenrikSpranz June 30, 2017
Thanks a bunch!
carolcardillo PRO+
 
carolcardillo June 28, 2017
I saw this photo at the bottom of a contest ranking in my email and knew it was yours.... :-) Great, as always!
HenrikSpranz PRO
HenrikSpranz June 30, 2017
Thank you Carol - makes me proud you knew :)!
PSD9253
 
PSD9253 June 28, 2017
GREAT SHOT
HenrikSpranz PRO
HenrikSpranz June 30, 2017
Thanks again! ;)
catherinethompson PRO+
 
catherinethompson August 02, 2017
Another stunner. Love your work.
HenrikSpranz PRO
HenrikSpranz August 22, 2017
Thank you Catherine! :)
georgeclevy Platinum
 
georgeclevy August 06, 2017
Another special photograph....
HenrikSpranz PRO
HenrikSpranz August 22, 2017
Thanks a lot George!
sophiecartwright
 
sophiecartwright October 26, 2017
Amazing ????????
HenrikSpranz PRO
HenrikSpranz September 07, 2018
Thank you Sophie!
georgeclevy Platinum
 
georgeclevy December 28, 2017
Great shot Happy New Year
HenrikSpranz PRO
HenrikSpranz September 07, 2018
Belated thank you, George!
isabelnelsonrapson Ultimate
 
isabelnelsonrapson September 03, 2018
Wow love you’re work . His wee hands are so human like xx amazing capture , you must have such patience xx
HenrikSpranz PRO
HenrikSpranz September 07, 2018
Thanks a bunch, Isabel! :)
HansyT
 
HansyT March 08, 2019
Your work is brilliant
See all

Behind The Lens

Location

I took this photo in Vienna in Austria where you can still wild living European hamsters - more than you can still find on the countryside.

Time

European hamsters are active at night and the best time to take photographs of them is in the very late afternoon or in the evening.

Lighting

With light getting less and less in the evening you need to choose a background where some of the light gets still caught like bushes with light green leaves. You can't expect the hamster to get in the perfect place but you can try to raise your chances to get a well balanced exposure.

Equipment

This shot was taken with a Canon 5d Mk iii, and a Canon 400/2.8 L IS and a bean bag.

Inspiration

European hamsters are one of my favorite subjects - along with the European ground squirrels. To even get a hamster in a standing pose needs a lot of patience - and if I say a lot I mean that. To get a funny pose and facial expression like this it took more than 100 hours but it has been wort the effort.

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, sometimes 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 or somehow put together.

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 filter

Feedback

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 s

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