I looked out our kitchen window and spotted this squirrel chowing down at one of our bird feeders. I grabbed a camera and lens, slowly opened the kitchen window and created several images. This is one of my favorites. I especially like the snowflakes on the fur and little ice-like crystals in the whiskers and eyelashes.

There were other images I liked to, like this one where the squirrel is checking me out.

Both images were created with a Canon 7D Mark II camera and a Canon EF 100-400mm lens.

With all of the white snow the camera meter can easily be fooled so I was in manual exposure mode. You can spot meter the squirrel if your camera has a spot meter, or meter the snow and add about to stops of plus exposure compensation, depending on your camera’s snow exposure latitude. For more information on metering animals in the snow see the articles in the links section.

With a long lens and a subject this close, depth of field is minimal, so I chose an aperture of f/11 to squeak out a bit more depth of field which is still pretty minimal.

Exposure Data for both images: f/11, 1/250 sec, ISO 800.

Links

Metering Wildlife in the Snow, Part One

Metering Wildlife in the Snow, Part Two

Testing Your Camera’s Snow Exposure Latitude

“How To” Series: Winter Photography