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...for nuts!
...for nuts!
Simms


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Searching (Advanced Editing V)
Camera: Canon EOS-5D
Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
Location: Epping Forest. England..
Date: Oct 7, 2007
Aperture: 2.8
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/80
Galleries: Nature, Animals
Date Uploaded: Oct 7, 2007

 This is a picture of a Lesser Spotted Shoe-horned squirrel. These can be found shoe-horning (hence the name) their way into completely unrelated challenges by means of a snappy title.

I was actually shooting for an entry for "fauna" but have decided on another shot for that challenge.

Predicted score, well lets just say I will be happy if it comes in higher than my overall average (about 6.14 I think).

POST CHALLENGE.

Thanks everyone for the votes and comments, this really was a last minute shorhorn as I went out with the kids on Sunday and fired off a few shots of the squirrels foraging, I didnt even think of the "searching" challenge at the time, this was going to be for "Fauna II", but when viewing them last week I thought "hmmm, well he could be searching" and to be honest the more I look at it, the less of a shoehorn it becomes.. still, cant moan about 5th place, congrats to everyone in the top 10!!


Admittedly it IS a lovely shot of one of these creatures, got loads more, might post some out-takes.

Statistics
Place: 5 out of 122
Avg (all users): 6.7755
Avg (commenters): 7.9375
Avg (participants): 6.5319
Avg (non-participants): 6.8900
Views since voting: 3710
Views during voting: 291
Votes: 147
Comments: 29
Favorites: 2 (view)

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AuthorThread
 10/20/2007 12:11:53 PM
Wow, talk about taking the squirrel photo to new levels...congratulations on the HM Mark!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/18/2007 02:13:22 AM
Hi from the Critique Club...Although I hardly think you need a critique on this image. ;) Here goes an informal, off the cuff reaction to your photo(more in the style of posthumous' 'Reaction' club.

The first thing that struck me when this popped up after the challenge ended was the rich brown tones. They do not look real, but I don't consider it a negative because the colors of the squirrel seem so perfect. (However, I know not your Epping Forest and the colors it contains so likely these colors are a perfect representation of the area.) The OOF areas are super and my only slight nitpic is that the nose of the squirrel seems to be just slightly soft, as if the primary focus plane is just behind his ears. I know these little buggers move fast so likely the softness is related to the 1/80. Blah, blah, blah, you know all this stuff.

Bottom line, I see it as meeting the challenge perfectly and was deserving of #5 if not higher. Good 'snappy' title, cute critter, and solid technicals. Long live shoehorns!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/15/2007 06:45:10 PM
I never would have pegged this as a shoehorned shot! I think it meets the challenge quite well, and it's a great shot of a squirrel too! Love the autumn colors and the shallow dof. This was the the first challenge I've voted in a while, and this was one of my top picks. Congrats on the top 5! :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/15/2007 10:51:11 AM
It is indeed a lovely squirrel. One of the best I've seen. Shoehorn or not, it works. Congrats!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/15/2007 09:33:16 AM
Originally posted by AlexSaberi:
should have won by far.

...or at least a ribbon. Thought it was yours, same feel.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/15/2007 08:27:05 AM
we get a lot of shoehorn squirrels around here. my shoehorn human didnt fair so well, I will ask him to wear his fluffy tail next time
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/15/2007 03:48:48 AM
should have won by far.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/15/2007 03:16:31 AM
Very nice...awesome DOF
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/15/2007 03:12:13 AM
Congrats on your 5th, Mark. Not as shoehorned as you thought (compared to about half of the competition).
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/15/2007 02:16:01 AM
The use of DOF here is outstanding, the muted tonalities of the image are flawless, the "pose" showing only half a face (feels like a sly nod to Librodo's veiled models) is outstanding. In no way does this image shout "shoehorning" to me; I think it's a very straightforward approach tot he topic. Granted, the squirrel may not actually have been searching for nuts, but he sure as heck LOOKS like he is, and that's the goal isn't it?

Good one!

R.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
10/14/2007 12:00:53 AM
Nice shot and great background blur to keep attention where it is needed.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/13/2007 08:29:39 PM
Nice sharp shot of this guy.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/13/2007 07:53:53 PM
Pretty colours and composition. 8.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/12/2007 09:21:25 AM
Cool shot. Great capture for the challenge. The editing is dead on too. Hope this scores well.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/12/2007 08:48:58 AM
Very nice selective focus. I like the softness of the leaves and grass that are sharp. Good shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/12/2007 01:58:21 AM
I think the plane of focus is perfect, and it makes the image. There's great depth and the black border does an excellent job framing the image.

Also, the leaves (in focus) are so sharp i could cut myself!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/11/2007 08:40:02 PM
Beautiful color & nice squirrel shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/11/2007 08:56:24 AM
Lovely bokeh
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/11/2007 02:17:47 AM
love this, great processing..........great image
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/10/2007 08:29:25 PM
good picture
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/09/2007 12:45:15 PM
LOVELY! The detail is just great and the softness in the leaves gives an awesome feeling of pillows or something. Great squirrel shot
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/08/2007 08:50:44 PM
Looks like simms's type of editing, good depth of field.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/08/2007 08:35:26 PM
Wow, this is amazing. I love the tonality, DOF, composition, VERY nice image.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/08/2007 04:20:11 PM
hmmmm, very nice shallow DoF, composition and post-processing dodge/burn. Sabieri?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/08/2007 02:42:29 PM
Great color and detail, hope you do well!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/08/2007 09:55:23 AM
I figured we'd see quite a few of these. Lovely softness. I wish his nose wasn't hidden by the foreground leaves. I might've played with sharpen on the squirrel a smidge. Overall - NICE
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/08/2007 05:51:56 AM
great shot! 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/08/2007 05:23:14 AM
mark?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/08/2007 03:46:18 AM
nice use of dof...maybe a bit too dark
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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