Mr R. Squirrel
European red squirrel.
Mar, 2020Views
705
Likes
Awards
Zenith Award
Curator's Selection
Top Shot Award 21
Judge Favorite
People's Choice in Love For Nature Photo Challenge
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Superb Composition
Peer Award
Magnificent Capture
Genius
All Star
Emotions
Happy
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Top 30 rank week 1
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PRO+
Duncan-Martin
April 09, 2020
Thanks guys. And thanks to everyone that voted in the #LoveForNature challenge. Truly humbled!
Platinum
Eddieuuu071
July 14, 2020
What a wonderful photo! Thank you for entering my challenge “Best of 2020”. Good luck.
PRO+
Duncan-Martin
July 15, 2020
Thanks Eddie, praise from a photographer of your calibre is truly appreciated! I look forward to your next challenge. Cheers
PRO+
jadebloomfield
July 14, 2021
Lovely photo well done. I cant recall ever seeing one of these in the flesh.
PRO+
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
Being an English Red Squirrel, which is fairly unusual thanks to the invasive Grey's, it's important to keep it's location fairly quiet. This is to stop too many people descending on it's location and possibly disturbing it so much that it leaves.Time
After travelling for a few hours the night before and then having a short nights sleep, I was up at sunrise the next morning to catch this bird feeder raiding Squirrel. I was very lucky to be allowed to get so close as he ate his breakfast.Lighting
The morning was heavily overcast causing his coat to lack it's usual bright red appearance. However, with some slight adjustments to the settings I was able to bring forth some of the colouring. He was particularly brown, so it's likely he is a European/British hybrid.Equipment
I used the Nikon d7500 with the Nikkor 105mm micro lens and shot without use of a tripod so that I could get nice and close easily.Inspiration
Like many British people, I feel an inherent love for these once abundant animals. Pushed to near extinction by the looming threat of disease brought in by the American Greys, I never want to miss any opportunity to get photographs of them while I still can.Editing
There was no post-processing undertaken with this image.In my camera bag
Currently I only own the d7500 and the nikkor 18-300mm dx lens, but when I know that I'm going somewhere special, I will hire the appropriate lens for the sites I'm visiting. I do have a 'go to' lens, which is the 105mm micro lens and a 2x tele converter. The 2x converter allows me to stay further away from a subject and still get close to the 1:1 ratio. Where possible, I prefer not use it as I find I lose some of the quality. I also love the 45mm micro lens when shooting insects. The 500mm nikkor tele lens is great for bird spotting.Feedback
When out walking looking for birds, rodents, foxes etc.. Keep an eye out for tell tale signs such as droppings, holes in the ground (fox dens, rabbit warrens, badger sets and even very small rodent holes, which can hide the odd surprise of the reptilian variety), trails in the undergrowth and scratch marks or footprints. Once you spot these signs, work out what creature it is and what time of day they are most active. Dusk is your friend, don't be afraid of staying out late. Foxes, badgers, owls and many other creatures are moving at this time. Some going to sleep, some waking up, it is a very active time of day. Great for roosting birds too. Lastly, don't be afraid to take some peanuts or meal worms and then set up the camera nearby and close to the ground. If you have remote shutter control then great, if not, take a picnic blanket and lie down. Pop some sticks either side of the lens to form a temporary hide, big enough to disguise or partially hide you from the intended subjects gaze. Stay very still and cover any flashing lights on the front of your camera making sure your flash is turned off, you may not get a second chance.
