This week’s photo challenge is Reward, a theme that is so wide it in interpretation I had to think hard on what I would do. While brainstorming ideas a photo popped up on my Facebook feed by a fellow photographer in my city who had spotted squirrels in one of the parks. I really like photographing squirrels as they are a skittish bunch and it can be a challenge. I had photographed one in the autumn just before hibernation. I thought it would be great if I could photograph one now after hibernation.
How does this link with reward? You may be asking yourself.
The reward was in getting the shot. Arriving at the park the squirrels were running around having a jovial time in the trees. I spent a bit of time shooting, watching and following them. Some were looking for food and one jumped up into a tree and sat still. Moving with some “grace” and “speed”, I approached him with my 300mm lens (to give him some room) and I burst shoot and moved, burst shoot and moved. The Reward for his and my patience was the photo above.
I love his eyes looking down, the sharpness of this claws/nose and the composition.
I used the shake reduction filter and Nik Define2 in Photoshop for capture sharpening and noise reduction. I then made basic adjustments in Lightroom.
I would love to know what you think of my interpretation of the challenge, let me know in the comments below.
Also check out how other photobloggers have interpreted Reward
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i agree. Photographing squirrels is rewarding. My husband and I just spend 6 weeks in Canada and loved taking pictures of them and watching them play especially in the snow. We don’t have them in Australia so they are new to us.
I have only just learnt that there are no squirrels in Australia, yet you also have lots of other cool wildlife we don’t have in Europe. The way they play looks really fun.
Thanks for stopping by Max, hope you can pop back again in the future.
Great capture, you were both very patient. Since I mostly walk around with my dog, there are not many opportunities for capturing wild life.
It must not be easy to catch that beautiful creature since it moves very fast..
Yeah they move quite fast, the key is to get them eating, either bring food or wait for them to find it.
Great portrait!
Wonderful portrait!
You were definitely rewarded. I love that shot–it has great detail, captures the squirrel’s personality, and is simply a lot of fun.
This was the sharpest of the set mike and was really lucky he let me so close. I have a few from this day that I will try and put in a gallery.
Great reward Ben! You have got him perfectly framed in the junction of the branch with his tail as a backdrop and like you say, the sharpness of his claws and eyes is spot on. It looks like he has his reward too!
He was sat quite happily there and I approached him from a low angle. He chose a good spot to pose which let me get the framing. Thanks for commenting Katie.
Great capture, we do not have red squirrels where I live anymore, just grey 😦 Looks like we both had the same idea for this prompt, nothing better in my view than being rewarded by a good photo 🙂
We definitely did Karen, I have never seen any grey here at all. Their coats are slight muted in the winter/autumn but that I their winter coat.
Great shot! It’s so sharp and captures the action perfectly!
He’s a cutie! Nothing like we have here. Great catch.
I am counting myself lucky that I have the chance to see and photograph them.
I only have robins and cardinals in my yard 🙂
Great shot!! Before I read your explanation, I thought “reward” referred to the food this squirrel had procured for itself! I enjoy (and envy) the sharpness of this photo – I’m discovering that in my rush to capture most shots, I don’t pay close enough attention to where the camera is focusing or I’m moving myself and causing a slight blur to the whole frame. Thanks for sharing!
I was quite prepared for this but later in the day with them running around me I did miss quite a few. My tips for a dslr shooter is to use shutter priority and choose an ISO that gives you a bit of room for manoeuvre. If you use your phone or a compact camera have it in sports mode for quick animals. And hold the camera with both hands.
Interesting…I tend to use aperture priority to control my focus options and never think to use shutter priority. I’ll have to try that.
It is not to control focus but to reduce the chance of movement blur. The shutterspeed should not be slower than the focal length ie if the focal length is 300mm you should use a shutter speed faster or equal to 1/300 sec to have a sharp picture. Also because animals love fast you can set a fast shutterspeed to freeze motion without blur.
Wow! I’d never heard that before! I’m going to have to try that. Thanks!
Yep it is a little rule of thumb to keep images sharp. Thats why you see sport photographers with monopods to keep the lens steady and get that extra shutter speed.
That picture is definitely a great reward! 🙂 I love red squirrels but unfortunately we don’t see them around here – only greys.
The grey squirrels are quite aggressive and will push red ones out of their habitat. In Poland I only see red ones.
He looks like he is as curious about you as you are of him in capturing his photo. I would title this “Curiosity.” LOL! Beautiful photo and what a great reward!
He did stop every now and then to check on me as I ate. I suppose he was wondering who the human was with the long black nose.
Hahaha! That’s too funny!!
What an adorable capture. I love squirrels and especially love how you can see his little paws and fluffiness! 🙂
Thank you, he his quite fluffy and cute but I am sure he would win in a fight over a nut.
Very cute. Squirrels are fun subjects. I like how sharp and soft this is. Your interpretation is nice, and I might add it seems the squirrel also has a reward in his hands, the interpretation I thought you were referring to. Well done. 🙂
Thank you, he does have his own reward possibly for dealing with a photographer bugging him during lunch.
I think it’s funny when squirrels bitch/bark at me when I’m in “their space”. In the summer we have a love/hate relationship, while in the winter I’m more okay with them sharing the bird seed.
I think he is gorgeous! Great capture Ben 😊
He is great, isn’t he.
Thanks for commenting Julie.
There are no squirrels in New Zealand either. Great capture, yes it is a reward to get a great photo when you know how skittish these critters can be.
They are super skittish, unless you bring food then they will sit still while they eat.
I think the scouts motto – be prepared- also applies to photographers.
Yep, that is so true.
A great shot, after waiting and working on it in post-processing. Great clarity and I love how you framed the squirrel front and centre. It looks hungry. You’re right. Capturing a good shot requires a lot of patience. And of course, timing and luck.
Thank you Mabel, there is a lot of luck to get the squirrel where he is, although I did stalk him for a while.
Great !
Ciao ciao
Max
Thank you max.
What a great shot and it is definitely a reward that he sat still for you!! I love the ears 🙂
Kirsten it was a real reward for me I was so happy afterwards.
Wonderful shot!
Thank you Graham, I really like this shot it is one of my faves from the whole day.
i like your response to this challenge, especially in the interpretation and being able to see the details of the curious squirrel,
hi Angelina, I thought it was an interesting way to view this theme. I was really lucky to get the shot and to be able to get so close. I am glad you like the picture and thank you for taking the time to comment.
I LOVE this! It is a reward to get this. They are so hard to capture and this shot is so adorable. His eyes, little paws, and the all in the tree…. perfect! A reward for sure.
Absolutely lovely ! Shot took at the perfect moment 🙂
It was just at the right time. I took several leading up to this one and this was one of the last before he ran away.