Chickaree!

Chickaree!

Hey all,

There's definitely a skew toward those super-easy-to-photograph ferocious critters in this gallery right now, so time for me to post one of the harder-to-successfully-capture cute critters!

This cute little devil ISN'T a Red Squirrel - it's a Chickaree (AKA a Douglas Squirrel, or if you'd prefer, a Douglas' Squirrel - or even a Douglas's Squirrel). This species is found only along a few states in the Pacific Northwest and a slender strip along the BC coast. When I shot this I was carrying minimal gear - I was actually unsuccessfully seeking out mountain goats and doing a lot of scrambling on steep slopes - so had only one camera, two lenses, and NO tripod with me. Consequently I had to push the camera I had with me a ways beyond the limit (ISO-wise) I normally impose on it. Because I had never seen (or photographed) one of these guys before I decided to document it as a baseline shot to improve upon at a later date. But I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised about the image quality given the ISO and shutter speed I was forced to use on this shot.

Squirrel aficionados will notice several differences in pelage of this guy from that of a red squirrel: its back is much more gray (and definitely not red), the flanks are orange rather than white, and the eye ring is light brown to biege rather than white (and - to the benefit of photographers - much less easy to "blow-out" or over-expose!).

Subject: Chickaree or Douglas' Squirrel (Tamiasciurus douglasii) munching down on a cone
Location: Birkenhead Lake Provincial Park, BC, Canada
Camera: Nikon D600
Lens: Nikkor 80-400mm f4.5-5.6 VR lens (@ 400mm) - hand-held. VR on and in "Normal" mode.
Exposure: 1/100s @ f7.1; ISO 6400. No compensation compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting.
Crop: Minor - this is about least 85% of full frame

As often is the case, there's a lot more about this image on my website, including processing info for this shot. Just go right here:

http://www.naturalart.ca/galleries/latest/

NOTE: The cone being consumed by this squirrel was naturally obtained (by the squirrel) and represents natural food - no baiting was involved in the capture of this image.

Comments and critiques welcomed - probably best to view the larger version prior to doing so!

Cheers...

Brad