~ Flower Baby ~
A wild European ground squirrel baby [Spermophilus] getting a flower for breakfast.
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A wild European ground squirrel baby [Spermophilus] getting a flower for breakfast.
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Jan, 2018Views
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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 :). You rarely have the chance to take a shot of such a very young ground squirrel as they are definitely shyer than the adult.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
