AZ Cotton Rat

Gallery: WildlifePosted March 6, 2014144 views12 comments

Arizona Cotton Rat

Place: Water Ranch, Gilbert, AZ
Date: February 3, 2014, 9:06 am
Equipment: Nikon D300, Nikkor AF-S 300/2.8 & TC20E III (2x), G1325, RRS BH-55, sidekick
Exposure: ISO 800, Aperture priority matrix metered 1/400 @ f/11
Raw, PS CS3 on Mac, 68% of frame

I’m primarily an avian photographer these days, but still have a keen interest in things in the natural world. Here’s a curiosity from last month from a place I spend a lot of time working the birds. Shot with my standard bird rig.

Please base any comments on the larger version if possible. As always: honest critiques requested; all comments appreciated.

Comments

12 comments

Comment posted by John Neukirch on March 6, 2014 at 4:54 PM

Exquisite fur detail on this little critter. To me it appears he has sad eyes. Is that his tail going off to the left?

Registered on July 9, 2012, 207 Posts, 1476 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on March 6, 2014 at 4:56 PM

Is that his tail going off to the left?

Yes.

Keeping it all in the frame pushes the body too far to the right for my compositional tastes, so I decided to clip it on the left.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by John Neukirch on March 6, 2014 at 5:49 PM

Understandable!

Registered on July 9, 2012, 207 Posts, 1476 Comments

Comment posted by Chet Dowell on March 6, 2014 at 6:54 PM

A great close up of this little critter, Richard. Very nice detail and light. Chet

Registered on December 3, 2012, 237 Posts, 1171 Comments

Comment posted by Rebecka on March 6, 2014 at 6:57 PM

Well, this is certainly the handsomest little rat I've ever seen. They don't make them this cute where I live.

As stated, the fur detail as seen on the larger version is lovely. It may very well be my eyes, but might this benefit from a CW rotation of a few degrees? (Or maybe he was on a hill?)

Thanks for sharing this little guy. I had never even heard of a Cotton Rat before. Now I'm off to Wikipedia him...

Registered on February 5, 2009, 170 Posts, 924 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on March 6, 2014 at 7:00 PM

this benefit from a CW rotation of a few degrees? (Or maybe he was on a hill?)

Yes, it is on a slope so it looks crooked.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on March 6, 2014 at 9:07 PM

Hi Richard, nice to see you posting over here in Wildlife. This is a wonderful, well detailed view of something closer to the bottom of the terrestrial food chain. The dof at f11 give a nice sense of the shape of the little rat. I like the similar brown coloration throughout. Although the rat is on a slope I might still try to straighten the photo for aesthetic reasons.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by William Bickle on March 7, 2014 at 9:38 AM

Hello Richard

This guy is well suited to blending into his surroundings , sharp and detailed with excellent catchlight.
Not sure you have it, but would like the cropped tail included?

Thanks for sharing

Bill

Registered on June 13, 2011, 183 Posts, 1702 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Cloran on March 7, 2014 at 2:24 PM

Great capture Richard.

With that low an angle were you waiting in one of the low blinds near a water area or was he cooperative enough to hang around while you got down to his level?

Registered on April 6, 2004, 119 Posts, 1989 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on March 7, 2014 at 2:38 PM

Nice shot of this Cotton Rat Richard and good to see a wildlife image over here from you. Great techs on this. I do agree with Gary that even though this is a slope to maybe rotate it a bit...only because since it is tight on the subject, obviously the viewer wouldn't know it is a hill. No other nits from me on it and find I really like this little one.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on March 7, 2014 at 3:44 PM

With that low an angle were you waiting in one of the low blinds near a water area or was he cooperative enough to hang around while you got down to his level?

I never bother with the blinds at the Gilbert Water Ranch. The cotton rats were out in a couple of places along the trails on this day, feeding under the bushes on the edges. For this I stopped along there trail on the east side of pond 6, dropped the tripod down to knee height, and just shot from the open in the middle of the path. The only real issue with shooting here was the heavy foot traffic so I had to work quickly and get out of the way.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on April 2, 2014 at 10:29 AM

Excellent point of focus, sharp details. I like the eye contact.
Very nice Rich.

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments