The blog of photographer Kim Ayres

Looking Up

This morning there was a strange yellow globe hanging in the sky.

"An alien spaceship!" I thought, "They've finally arrived! I wonder if the government will just see them as another set of refugees to try and keep out of our borders..."

And then I realised it was the sun - so rarely seen over the past few months I'd almost forgotten it existed.

It wasn't raining either!

A walk in the woods was required. A chance to breathe fresh air, inhale woodland aromas and take my camera along in case anything caught my eye.

A shaft of sunlight through the trees caused old beech leaves to suddenly glow a deep warm orange.



And then, off in the distance, a red squirrel ran across the path - but it was gone before I could swing the camera into action. It has to be said that to date, all my squirrel photos have been out of focus and of their back legs as they disappear into the trees.

I wandered up to the place I'd last seen it and started looking into the undergrowth to see if there was any sign of it.

Nothing.

And then, something caused me to look up. There it was. I managed one clear shot, but my movement and the click of the camera spooked it. I fired off several more as it scampered across the branches, but it was too quick for me.

However, I was delighted to find this on my memory card as I downloaded my images when I got home.



It might not be to the standard professional wildlife photographers get, but it felt like a personal triumph to attain my very first non-blurry red squirrel photo.

20 comments

Eryl said...

I'd be the happiest person in the world if I'd made that shot, it has such life about it, and the glinting whiskers are particularly tremendous.

Kim Ayres said...

Eryl - I'm pretty chuffed, although it does feel like luck. Normally they are too far away, or moving or - and this is very common - the focuses on a twig on a different focal plane so the squirrel ends up blurry.

Tom Langlands said...

As soon as this weather improves we need to do a squirrel shoot Kim

Kim Ayres said...

Tom - sounds good to me - your squirrel shots are second to none :)

Glenda said...

Your squirrel shot is fantastic, but I LOVE everything about that photo of the glowing orange leaf - gorgeous!

Kim Ayres said...

Glenda - thank you :)

If you like the leaf shot I have a gallery of nature photos, which you can find here:
http://kimayres.zenfolio.com/seasons

hope said...

That is the wildest set of ears I've ever seen on a squirrel. You do find the most magical things when you walk in the woods. :)

Kim Ayres said...

Hope - you do indeed! It's just rare to be able to catch it on camera :)

Yaya Snaps said...

Now that's a great squirrel shot Kim...I only managed my latest one because the squirrel stood still for me :)

Kim Ayres said...

Theanne - stuffed ones work quite well too... ;)

Yaya Snaps said...

Baron (the dachshund) has stuffed squirrels...however, he ate their feet off! who knows that could be photo worthy :D :D :D

Kim Ayres said...

Theanne - smart dog - stops them running away... ;)

Jonathan Chant said...

A triumph indeed. Great shot, Kim.

Kim Ayres said...

Thank you Jonathan :)

maurcheen said...

I've only ever seen one squirrel in the wild, and it was fantastic! Great photo my friend. 😀

Kim Ayres said...

Maurcheen - thank you! They are reasonably common around here - I've seen several, but this was the first real clear shot I've ever managed :)

neena maiya (guyana gyal) said...

Haha, seems like the sun itself was the alien :-D

And your squirrel photo is beautiful, soft, muted light. I tried to photograph a squirrel with my phone-camera, I was in my brother's kitchen in Florida, and there it was, frolicking in the backyard. It saw me through the window and ran away. I was miffed.

The leaf reminds me of the old leaf of our starapple [fruit]. I kept one for ages, admiring it every morning.

Kim Ayres said...

Neena - part of the problem with using a phone camera is it tends to be a wide-angle lens, so whatever you're trying to photograph will appear tiny unless you're up close - and of course squirrels won't let you get close :)

Allen Capoferri said...

Wonderful. You reminded me of those long periods of overcast days when I was in Europe...can't say I've experienced that here in California.

Kim Ayres said...

Allen - I think I could really enjoy California...

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