The Cuteness Factor

(June 23rd) There are a lot of things that can draw people to photos. Sometimes you have the choose one of the sappier ones - the cuteness factor. I had a couple of cute subjects today and had no qualms about exploiting it. My first subject was this Eastern Chipmunk who I saw at just about the earliest possible direct light. It was busy burying something and occasionally looked up with the evidence on its nose.

While watching the chipmunks, several birds visited me. Several orioles of both species, a few starlings, grackles, and others all made their way nearby. I got some great looks at this American Robin who seeemed to wonder just why I was lying on my belly with this huge camera pointed at a tiny chipmunk.

If you need cute, you can't fail with babies. I found a pair of Mallard ducklings resting on the grass near one of the ponds and went to work. They seem so happy that a nice bright image seemed called for.

I wish I had used a tiny bit of fill on these pictures, but they still came out alright. The Mallards just sat resting for a while, but eventually they got up to waddle to the water. This picture was just as they were getting ready to stand up.

At this time of year, babies are on nearly every animal's mind. Further down a ways from the pond's edge, I ran across a Painted Turtle. Odds are it was out of the water to lay its eggs. At first it seemed not to mind me much as it took its head out of the shell right away. So I got ready to take a shot and wait for it to take its legs out and start walking back to the pond. I figured I had enough patience. Wrong as usual! 45 minutes later I gave up and headed to work while the turtle never came out fully. I'm sure it started walking just when I got out of sight.