Frozen Nut

Posted by Al Poullis on Feb 5th, 2014 | 0 comments

(1 votes - 5.00 / 5)

February 2014, and the winter is particularly brutal this year here in Toronto! Continuing freezing temperatures and back-to-back storms!

Still, there is an unparalleled beauty to the snow coming down. I was experimenting with my iPhone and its amazing panoramic features when I saw this little guy emerging through the snow on our deck, right next to the summer table, which is now covered-up and snowed-in.

I snapped a photo with my iPhone just in case I missed him later, and rushed for my Canon 5D.

It only took 2 minutes, but … what a disappointment! By the time I was back he was gone!

The snow was still falling and I was still firing-away at the landscape when I saw something literally jumping out in my viewfinder!

I couldn’t believe my luck! There he was, in all his glory, sitting right in front of me on the deck railing this time, at a distance of 10 feet, enjoying his newly-found nut! Little buggers, they hide them somewhere, I bet!

I opened wide the incredible Canon EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM to throw-off the background, and …voilà! Tricky one to perfect right-off camera, but thanks to RAW shooting and post processing in Adobe’sCamera Raw and then Photoshop CS6 it all came to life.

The wider crop shows a bit more of the surroundings but I prefer the tight crop with prime focus on the squirrel’s detailing, front paws, the snow on his fur, his majestic tail.

Pure luck, I tell you!