Golden-mantled Ground-squirrel

[Nancy Bell]

Here is another in my series of small wildlife. I photographed this ground-squirrel at the same time as the previous chipmunk. This shows the type of lichen-covered granite rocks in the area. Using "color range" under "select" in PS5 I selected the lighter colors of the rocks, then with "shadows & highlights" I reduced the highlights to lessen the glow-like look that appeared in the previous chipmunk image. These critters also live in the rocks but wake up later than the chipmunks. They then like to climb to the tops of the rocks and sit in the sun (they look like they are meditating ). It's very amusing to watch them stuff food into their pocket cheeks until they bulge. They are very fond of bits of fruit I sometimes put out at midday. At times they even come to my call. Note the very wet tail on this individual.

Canon 5DMark III, Canon 300 f4 L IS, 1/500, f5.6, ISO 1250, manual exposure. Again I used the window frame for support as I sat inside.

C & C most welcome.

[Jamie Douglas]

Hi Nancy, I like your artistic approach to the natural tones here. In my mind, an example of how boosting contrast should be applied. Nice one and this image has a better balance than the last IMO. Cheers

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Nancy,
your PP skills are really coming to life, easy to see now.
Not that exciting animal for a lot of people , i do find them always interesting.
Like the colors , tonality and the framing with nice BG.

I would try to tone down the lighter parts in the BG to make the squirrel stand out more, plus i would try to reduce contrast in the whole BG.

Nice one

TFS Andreas

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Nancy - I'm glad you are safe. Nice image, again with good detail and I like the angled body. Good suggestions above and I would add a tiny bit more sharpening to the nose area.

TFS,
Rachel

[Stan Cunningham]

That is a "porker" of a golden mantled. Well ready for hibernation soon. Was the tail wet? Most I see have a fluffier tail. As with above, I really like what you did with the colors and love the lichens on the rock.

[Nancy Bell]

Thank you all! Andreas, good suggestion about reducing contrast in the bkgd. Stan, this "porker" is indeed well fed. My ground-squirrels and chipmunks spend all day under the bird feeders eating what the birds have dropped. Sometimes I think they have paid off the Hairy Woodpecker just to dig seeds out of the feeder and throw them on the ground ! Yes, wet tail.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Nancy, I like the position and slight head turn, and the little critter does look a little bedraggled based on the tail.

In my mind, an example of how boosting contrast should be applied.

I have to disagree Jamie, the contrast is way too much as per Andreas reply, the image looks heavy, clogged in parts and is just too Contrasty. Also Nancy, I'm a little lost in the PP technique you mentioned, however if it works fine, but the H/S tool has to be carefully applied with a light hand. Remember Nancy, you don't always need to adjust all sliders, you may find only one or two need tweaking.

I do like the rich tones of the subject and having a darker BKG does help to lift/separate the subject. If this is a regular feeding spot/set-up, then when they are not there just shoot to look at the BKG. If you then notice there are darker areas or hotspots then you can address them ready for the next shooting period. Helps in the long run.

TFS
Steve

[Jonathan Ashton]

Nancy, I like the subject and the lichen covered rock but I think there is a little too much contrast the image looks very dense or heavy. A quick look at levels indicates this to be the case. I know you were after a particular effect but I would be curious to see how the image might have looked with less contrast.

[Nancy Bell]

I went back to the drawing board with the suggestions. I used a lighter hand this time. Improved?

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Nancy, I think comparing the two it's very subtle, however on the RP the whites look a tad hotter? Do you have the Highlight alerts set on your camera when you shoot/view your Histogram? What was the EV set to, 0 or -?

[Jonathan Ashton]

Nancy the image still looks as if it is slightly OTT to me, the left side of the histogram and the right side both show clipping.

[Nancy Bell]

Hmmm...I am struggling with this one. I use manual exposure so I look closely at the histogram and should have seen blinkies. (Maybe the light behind me was too bright and I did not notice?) Not sure what OTT means, but I understand what you are saying. At this point I will go back to the very beginning and set up my camera at the window again and take more pictures. I will take this as a good reminder to be very, very aware of the histogram. Thanks so much for helping me!

[Steve Kaluski]

Nancy if you want to fwd the raw via Dropbox, then happy to take a look and make some pointers.