Should I?

Gallery: WildlifePosted September 11, 20161,609 views7 comments

Attempting to capture migrating shorebirds moving thru Vermont I noticed this Eastern Gray Squirrel who looked as he was contemplating a river crossing. I caught this pensive pose as he seemed to be weighing his options. Up until this moment I had never seen, let alone heard, of a squirrel swimming...but this guy actually took the plunge and crossed over to the opposite side.

D500
300mm f/2.8
TC-14E III
1/4000s @ f/6.3
ISO 2000

Handheld from my kayak

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Sharron Sims on September 11, 2016 at 10:30 AM

I really like this pose, the unique setting and beautiful BG.

Registered on April 28, 2014, 54 Posts, 166 Comments

Comment posted by Mike Ramy on September 11, 2016 at 2:14 PM

Hey Charles,
You have taken an all to common subject and created a most interesting composition. The lighting creates a perfect mood for the unique environment and you caught a fantastic pose with excellent detail. The large version is very impressive indeed.
Well done on this shot, great title and commentary . . . devil

Registered on June 16, 2012, 567 Posts, 2809 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on September 11, 2016 at 4:44 PM

Unusual setting for a squirrel image. Good color, details and composition. I also like the alert pose of the squirrel. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on September 12, 2016 at 7:49 AM

Charles,
A rare capture I would think, amd a marvelous image.
Did you get any of the swim?

Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on September 12, 2016 at 9:05 AM

Ken,

I took several shots of this squirrel as he swam across the river, a few of which could be used as record images. Most of those images fall short for a post in the Gallery however, as the animal was swimming away from me and many of them barely show its face. I'll work up and perhaps place a few of the better shots on a Forum post to offer a glimpse of what I think was a pretty rare event.

Thanks to all for your comments,

Chuck

Registered on August 12, 2009, 544 Posts, 2414 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on September 15, 2016 at 9:33 PM

I like how all the tension is diagonal. You have great eye contact and a fine pose, too, making an excellent capture. Although it is probably reflected green from the overhead trees, I might experiment with selectively removing very slight greenish tinge from his coat.

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Igor Hoveijn on September 24, 2016 at 4:35 PM

I like the simplicity of this image. The pose and position of the squirrel on the rock make it a real nice comp. Beautiful monochromatic background. As a detail I like the tail not just pointing into emptiness but to the smaller rock.

Registered on November 2, 2015, 18 Posts, 192 Comments