You don’t have to travel far to find beauty. Sometimes it’s waiting quietly in the grass, just outside your back door.
One of my favorite wildlife subjects lately has been the Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus) that visits my backyard. It’s a good reminder that you don’t always have to travel to a national park or wildlife refuge to create meaningful nature photographs… although if you do decide to travel, I’d love to have you join me on one of my photography tours.
Sometimes the perfect subject is a flower, an insect, or a small mammal living right outside your back door.
These little guys are opportunistic feeders and regularly stop by to feed on the bird seed that scatters beneath my feeders. Since the food is readily available, they simply take advantage of
Those little cheeks full of bird seed never fail to make me smile.
the opportunity.
At only about 5 to 6 inches tall at the shoulder, photographing them at eye level means lying flat on my stomach with my lens only about six inches off the ground. It’s not always the most comfortable position, but the perspective makes all the difference.
Before making these photographs, I spent time simply sitting quietly in the yard and letting the chipmunks become accustomed to my presence. As they realized I wasn’t a threat, they gradually went about their normal routine, allowing for much more natural behavior and more intimate photographs.
One of my tiny backyard neighbors pausing just long enough to see what I’m up to.
As always, I’m trying to create photographs with as much emotional impact as possible. If you stopped and said, “Awwww…” then mission accomplished.