Squirrel Snack

Not that long ago I shared an image of a squirrel here on Weekly Fifty while also waxing at length about how I’m not really a wildlife photographer: I lack the gear, the patience, and to be honest, the fortitude. And yet, since then I ended up sharing a couple more pictures of squirrels almost as though the universe had set out to prove me wrong regarding my own self-assessment. I still stand by my original, and somewhat longstanding, claim that I’m just not that into wildlife photography but I think that makes it all the more interesting and exciting when I am able to take a picture like the one you see here.

This little rodent was snacking on some acorns at the edge of Theta Pond on the OSU campus and I just happened to be walking past with my D750 and 105mm macro lens on a mild winter afternoon. Normally the wildlife near the pond tolerates humans well enough, though they tend to turn away if someone gets too close. Basically, there’s an unwritten rule that you can share the same space but not too much of the same space. As such it’s usually a futile effort to get photos like this without a telephoto lens because the animals don’t want you, as my kids would say, all up in their business. I’m not sure why that was not the case here, but I’m quite thankful that this squirrel either had something else on his mind or perhaps just didn’t consider me much of a threat despite the large lens looming and leering at him while he was filling his tummy.

Everything just sort of worked out for this photo, and I’m super happy with how it turned out. I was able to get close enough (maybe 3 or 4 feet) to get his eye tack sharp while the rest of him faded out ever so slightly with the depth of field afforded by an f/4.8 aperture. I like how the sunlight makes his fur coat glow, and creates a bright glint in his eye as he watches me with great interest. I also really appreciate the background blues and grays that help the squirrel stand out against the rest of the image–something that often has not happened when I have had the good fortune of taking similar shots over the years. I don’t know exactly, but all things considered this could be the be best shot of a squirrel I have ever taken–though again, with the caveat that I consider myself about the farthest thing from an actual wildlife photographer. But who knows, maybe with more practice I’ll get better and eventually find myself doing more things like this in the future. You never know…