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Thread: Red squirrels

  1. #1
    Macro and Flora Moderator Jonathan Ashton's Avatar
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    Default Red squirrels

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    Tripod Canon 1Dx Canon 500mm f4 Auto ISO 8000, 1/800 sec f5.6
    Dinner is being served, please form an orderly queue!
    One squirrel really filled his boots then he ran off with the nuts to stash them. Another squirrel watched carefully, went to the mushrooms to get some nuts of his own but he was chased off so he went for the stashed nuts and re-stashed them, Good idea eh? Well not quite so good because a jay was watching and he then pinched the nuts from the secondary stashes!!
    All C&C welcome

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Hi Jonathan - The tufts on these guys make them so much cuter than our rather ordinary squirrels here. I like the mushrooms in the fg especially as you used them to conceal the bait. My initial thoughts without looking at your techs was that the IQ was not up to your usual postings then I saw that you shot it at ISO 8000 . Shooting with a tripod couldn't you drop the ISO and the ss a bit? At first look I wasn't sure about the additional squirrel in the bg but after looking for a bit, I think it adds to the image.

    TFS,
    Rachel

  3. #3
    Macro and Flora Moderator Jonathan Ashton's Avatar
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    Rachel I suppose I could have dropped the shutter speed for this image but just before this shot they were scampering about and I was trying to get some action shots, this situation just presented itself before I thought about changing the shutter speed and I didn't want to miss the shot.

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Thanks for the explanation Jonathan. We've all been there and hindsight is always 20/20.

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    BPN Viewer Steve Canuel's Avatar
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    Such nice looking squirrels. I like the one in the BG just waiting for the right time to make his move.

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    Love the story! At first I was confused that the squirrel was eating the mushrooms, but then I understood about the hidden nuts. I prefer the OP. I especially like those rich red tones that are both bkgd and squirrel colors. The placement of the 2nd squirrel and the amount of blurring is just right. Thanks for the info on the camera settings.

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    Next time get dirty and lower down, those mushrooms would look good from ground zero. I always like to add some almonds or hazel nuts (no shell) as they are brown and they do not run off to bury them, instead sitting and eating give a minute or so to get shots ;)
    Can just see the noise creeping in over the second squidger, might be worth a harsher NR pass over the BG?

  8. #8
    Macro and Flora Moderator Jonathan Ashton's Avatar
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    Thanks very much everyone, Peter I did try a tighter crop I like both versions. Neil thanks for the tip, I do usually take some hazel nuts but I hadn't got any this time but almonds are also a good idea.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jonathan Ashton View Post
    Thanks very much everyone, Peter I did try a tighter crop I like both versions. Neil thanks for the tip, I do usually take some hazel nuts but I hadn't got any this time but almonds are also a good idea.
    I even collect acorns once they start falling ;) nowt like free squirrel food :)

  10. #10
    Macro and Flora Moderator Jonathan Ashton's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Neil Burton View Post
    I even collect acorns once they start falling ;) nowt like free squirrel food :)
    Hey I've got acorns in the freezer from last year!

  11. #11
    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Aye Jonathan, this is really cute!

    And ISO 8000 - whew, not bad at all, love to see you are pushing the limits...

    I must admit I probably like Peter's RP more, but then I would be careful at such high ISO when cropping because loss of detail. Would have loved the mushrooms to be sharper...

    Auto ISO...still not sure about that, tried it a few times, I still feel I can get away with less ISO sometimes, less than the value my camera decides...some photographers swear by it but I still have my doubts...Nevertheless a lovely image of this cutie-pie and I enjoyed viewing, thank you Jonathan

    Kind regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

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