Chasing the perfect squirrel shot

I hope there is a nut in this for me (explore 29 May 2011) 

Originally uploaded by YvonneSherry

At the end of May, spurred on by good weather, I ventured to Kensington Gardens in search of the perfect squirrel shot. The squirrels there are particularly tame (so much so that one sat on my knee whilst I was taking a photo) so they make good subjects for close up shots.

The best photo I managed was this one and given that my new lens (Tamaron 70-300mm) only cost my £99, I was quite impressed with the result. However, on reflection I think the photo looks a little posed and had I not been there, I might have though this was a stuffed squirrel.

I'll continue my search for the perfect squirrel shot....probably with another trip to Kensington Gardens.

Pawtraits of pooches

Ellie

Originally uploaded by YvonneSherry

Type in 'Pet photography' to google images and a massive 21,700,000 results are returned. 'Pawtraits' of pooches are pretty big business nowadays, so I thought I'd try my hand at it whilst I was dogsitting last weekend.

Although I'll admit dogs in dress can be very funny (McDonalds, Grumpy Dad, Santa), I don't think I can, in all good conscience, put clothing on a dog. Besides, the subject in question was less that co-operative, being an older, tried and frankly less than active dog. There were no jumping shots, no fetching shots (she won't fetch, she won't even run to get a ball) and walks are determined by the weather (she won't go for a walk in the rain), the temperature (not if it's cold) and her mood (if she wants to get out of bed).

The shot above is the most 'active' shot I managed, but I'm quite pleased with this shot as she looks happy and content (more photos are on flickr and in some of these she looks a little grumpy). It's hard to get a dog to look interested when they aren't, but I suppose an over exuberant dog brings its own challenges as well.......