Nature Photographers Network
This is the preserved archive of the original Nature Photographers Network. The community continues at naturephotographers.network.
Fox squirrel 2
‹ PreviousWildlife GalleryNext ›

Fox squirrel 2

by John Tobias

Gallery: WildlifePosted March 6, 2016123 views3 comments
I decided to delete my first post of this image and reprocess it using Canon DPP before PSE.  I realized I was pushing the IQ of my camera at 400 ISO hand held.  Taken in Funks Grove where I had been trying to locate the pair of Pilieated woodpeckers seen in the area.  No luck with them, but then spotted this guy as I was leaving.

Canon PS SX60
1/500 @ F-6.5 ISO 400
Canon 3.8-247mm @ 247mm HH

Comments

3 comments
Comment posted by Pete Bengeyfield on March 7, 2016 at 12:21 AM
The tail is a real attention grabber, and his shadowed body makes the eye stand out great,  Nice one!
Registered on December 2, 2003, 1247 Posts, 3439 Comments
Comment posted by Lon Sharp on March 7, 2016 at 10:57 AM
You were looking for a shot with lots of challenges in the scene.  The apparent "rod" coming down in line with the body is (to me) the major nit, and the other strong diagonal (reddish stem) serves as a distraction as well.  Although the eye is lighted, the head and body are mostly in contrasty shade, making things difficult.  Unfortunately, the eye is not in the best focus and instead we have a situation where the eye is soft but the tail and mossy ground nearer to us is in the crisp focal area.  So in the end you have a cute subject, well posed and serving as the reminder that the woodpecker eluded you!  enlightened
Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments
Comment posted by Brad Hill on March 8, 2016 at 9:00 AM
Hi John,

I REALLY like the lighting on this squirrel - that fully illuminated tail, dark body, and "spot-lit" face combine very nicely. The background isn't helping you a lot (especially those two intersecting branches that are more in focus), but I don't think it's a "deal-breaker". The noise in the background could be easily cleaned up if you wanted to do so. I agree with Lon's points on the focus.

Thanks for sharing this one...

Cheers...

Brad
Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments