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A raccoon peeks through leaves in Blendon Woods Metro Park, Westerville, Ohio.
A mother deer and two fawns rest in the shade in Sharon Woods Metro Park, Westerville, Ohio.
A gray squirrel uses a three-point stance on a tree in Blendon Woods Metro Park, Westerville, Ohio.
Chipmunk resting on a tree limb, Sharon Woods Metro Park, Westerville, Ohio.
A bullfrog rests in the wetlands in Slate Run Metro Park, Canal Winchester, Ohio.
A mink stands in a forest, backlit by the winter morning sun, Sharon Woods Metro Park, Westerville, Ohio.
An alligator basks in the sun in Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Naples, Fla.
A northern watersnake climbs a fallen tree limb above the water, Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, Oak Harbor, Ohio.
Deer with early-growth antlers covered with velvet looking at camera, Prairie Oaks Metro Park, West Jefferson, Ohio.
An American red squirrel looks from a knothole, Sharon Woods Metro Park, Westerville, Ohio.
A turtle looks up while resting on a log in Six Mile Cypress Slough, Fort Myers, Fla.
Chipmunk sitting on a weathered fence post, Sharon Woods Metro Park, Westerville, Ohio.
A raccoon stands in a fall field, Sharon Woods Metro Park, Westerville, Ohio.
A coyote stands in a snowy field, Sharon Woods Metro Park, Westerville, Ohio.
A fox squirrel stretches out on a tree limb on a sunny morning in Prairie Oaks Metro Park near Columbus, Ohio. The squirrel's eyes were closed when I first spotted it. It had opened its eyes by the time I found a position with a clear view of the limb, but it didn't change positions for a while.
A deer with velvet-covered antlers stands in a field in Sharon Woods Metro Park, Westerville, Ohio.
A rat snake rests on a slanted tree trunk in Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, Oak Harbor, Ohio.
A turtle rests in a sunny spot in Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, Oak Harbor, Ohio.
A fox squirrel, backlit by the morning sun, lets its tail hang while eating in a tree, Sharon Woods Metro Park, Westerville, Ohio.
An alligator sleeps on a log in Six Mile Cypress Slough, Fort Myers, Fla.
A rabbit rests in tall grass in Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, Oak Harbor, Ohio.
A turtle stretches its neck and leg while resting on a log in Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, Oak Harbor, Ohio.
A frog hides in green-covered water in Slate Run Metro Park, Canal Winchester, Ohio.
A male deer stands in a field, Sharon Woods Metro Park, Westerville, Ohio.
A fox squirrel with muddy claws rests on a rail fence in Sharon Woods Metro Park, Westerville, Ohio.
An alligator glides toward the camera in Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Naples, Fla.
Chipmunk sitting in the entrance to its den, Sharon Woods Metro Park, Westerville, Ohio.
A groundhog stands on a rock ledge in Sharon Woods Metro Park, Westerville, Ohio.
A gray squirrel hangs off a side of a tree, Sharon Woods Metro Park, Westerville, Ohio.
A muskrat hauls material to its den in Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, Oak Harbor, Ohio.
A frog rests in the wetlands in Slate Run Metro Park, Canal Winchester, Ohio.
Chipmunk sitting on tree trunk, Sharon Woods Metro Park, Westerville, Ohio.
Turtle sunning on fallen tree, Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, Oak Harbor, Ohio.
A raccoon looks from its hiding place in a tree in Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, Oak Harbor, Ohio.
An alligator glides through water in Six Mile Cypress Slough, Fort Myers, Fla.
A chipmunk calls from a log in Sharon Woods Metro Park, Westerville, Ohio.
Two Florida redbelly turtles rest in the sun in Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Naples, Fla.
An American red squirrel clings to tree bark in Sharon Woods Metro Park, Westerville, Ohio.
I spend a number of hours each week carrying camera equipment through woods and fields while chasing photos of small birds. During these excursions I often encounter “non-feathered” wildlife, but anything larger than a chipmunk or squirrel can be difficult to shoot because of the long lens I’m using (Canon EF 600 f/4L with a 1.4x teleconverter, the equivalent of 840mm of glass).
At 840mm, something the size of a deer needs to be about half a football field away for me to get anything other than a head and shoulder shot.
But occasionally I get lucky and catch the right animal in good light at the proper distance to get something usable.
My featured gallery for September includes a variety of those “lucky” wildlife shots.
The image of the raccoon that leads the gallery is a good example of shooter’s luck. I was walking through a very dark patch of woods while looking for birds to photograph in Blendon Woods Metro Park outside Columbus, Ohio, when I startled a raccoon that was beside the trail (it startled me, too, because it ran right under my foot). The raccoon climbed a nearby tree, but seemed curious about my camera and me. It kept looking around the tree and between the leaves to see what I was doing. I was able to click off a few frames. ((For you photo tech freaks: I’m surprised I was able to get a somewhat sharp image shooting wide open – f/5.6 – at ISO3200 and a very slow 1/50th of a second using the Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L and Canon 2x teleconverter on a monopod. This was before I bought the Canon EF600mm f/4L that I use for wildlife now.)
After a few minutes the raccoon climbed down the tree and walked to within about 10 feet of me, stood on its hind legs, stared at the camera, then moved into the woods.
