Ok I am totally frustrated, how on earth do you get a good squirrel shot? Those little furry creatures do not cooperate, just about the time I get a good shot in line off he goes, any tips would be greatly appreciated. In other words HELP...
when i was a kid, i used to put peanut butter on saltine crackers, and stick them to the trunk of a tree at about eye level. ( although back then it may have been e bee bee gun i was aiming at them instead of a camera, but... ;}
if you have alot of squirrels one is bound to find it, and stop on the tree to inspect. the more often you provide them the more they will be around...
although the more they are around, the more they will eat the bird food out of your feeders, which BTW is another good spot to capture them...
here is one of my favorites..you dont always have to be close to them. A little fat guy.
Around here we have so many it's really not hard to get pics of them...
It also helps if you try in places where they are generally going to be more friendly and tame than in the 'wild'. Else supply enough food on a regular basis that they get to know you and expect food when you're around.
if you find some that are pretty tame or use to humans you tend to get better shots...
here are a few of my squirlle shots
this is 1 of 4 squirlles that will take food from my hand at my girlfriend place. I have a pic at home of one of them holding on to my finger. he was about 3 ft away in this shot.
this guy was pretty tame and got about 3 feet from me, but I was at about 8 ft away when I took this shot
Chubby squirlle
If your camera has this feature, try using continuous shooting mode with a fast shutter speed. You're bound to acquire at least one decent shot out of a bunch.
A day before, I throw out peanuts, and sunflower seeds, and other nuts/seeds, that are in my pantry that nobody eats. Make sure they are unsalted or else the squirrels will get sick or something. Throw a lot of seeds. Then the next day, check back, and the squirrels should be there. Let them get comfortable with you being around,(dont move) and wait for them to take peanuts. Then itll seem like many more are coming. Stand still and make sure not to scare them. If you can find out where the they eat the food, stand close, but not so close that youll scare them. Good Luck. You can see some of my squirrel shots in my portfolio.
This was taken December 31, and the squirrels must've known we were due for a storm because they were everywhere!
I spotted this little guy and carefully walked up to about 10 feet of him. He wasn't skittish at all, and I took pains not to make any sudden movements. I have some shots of him that were closer, but I thought the parallel lines of the steps made the photo more interesting.
Be patient, be kind, and maybe you'll get a good shot.
If you have a college campus nearby, I'd try there. Many are "squirrel friendly." I was reading outside under a tree at school one day and looked down to see a squirrel almost sitting on my foot. Didn't have a camera with me though.
I got these two shots without a lot of zoom (50mm), no food and little patience was need. I find the best idea is to find areas where children feed them, this way they are used to people and will come up to you expecting food. If you do feed them they will tend to take the food and run off, my tip is to make them wait for the food take a few shots first.
Feed them. Set up a squirrel feeder in your backyard. If you are outside alot they will become used to your voice and your activities and will be less fearful of you.
For my first attempt, I set my tripod near the feeder for a few hours until I noticed they were no longer concerned with its presence. I then slowly made my way toward the tripod with camera in hand. Initially, I was about 6 feet away, but after 30 minutes, I had moved myself and the tripod to within a foot of the feeder. Now when they see me walk out the door with my tripod in hand, they actually scamper toward the feeder and pose (I swear)!
