In the Field

Chipmunk - Curiosity. Findlay Creek, BC, Canada. May 4, 2005.

Photographers of scenery and of wildlife know the value of watching for and controlling strong lines in a composition (those old "leading lines"). This precious and curious little chipmunk came equipped with his own leading lines! My only job was to recognize them and make sure I was sharply focused on the places were all those lines intersected - his nose!

Behind the Camera

Chipmunk - Curiosity. Findlay Creek, BC, Canada. May 4, 2005.

Digital Capture; Compressed RAW (NEF) format; ISO 100.

Nikon D2X with Nikon 200-400 mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S VR lens @ 400 mm (600 mm equivalent with digital conversion factor) supported on Gitzo 1348 carbon fibre tripod with Wimberley head; SB-800 flash (fill) with Better Beamer Flash Extender - both mounted on Really Right Stuff flash bracket. VR turned to "On" and in "Normal" mode.

1/250s @ f6.3; no compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting; -0.3 stop compensation on SB-800 (i-TTL mode).

At the Computer

Chipmunk - Curiosity. Findlay Creek, BC, Canada. May 4, 2005.

RAW Conversion, including first-pass sharpening, exposure compensation, and tone curve adjustment, using Phase One's C1 Pro. Multiple RAW conversions (2 at different exposure settings) to extend dynamic range of captured image, in this case primarily to retrieve highlight detail in the rock the chipmunk is standing on and on the fringes of the chipmunk's ears.

All further digital correction on 16-bit TIFF file using Adobe's Photoshop CS2, including compositing and masking of various exposure versions, additional tone curve adjustment, selective saturation enhancement and selective sharpening for web output.

Conservation

Chipmunk - Curiosity. Findlay Creek, BC, Canada. May 4, 2005.

Ten percent of the revenue generated by this image will be donated to Wildsight.

Species Status in Canada*: This species is not designated as at risk.

The Yellow Pine Chipmunk (Tamia amoenus) is a small, strongly striped chipmunk found in the southern half of British Columbia and along the southwestern portion of Alberta's border with BC. Interestingly, recent behavioural studies of this species shows that smaller males tend to be dominant over their larger counterparts. This is both counter-intuitive and uncommon among mammals.

This Yellow Pine Chipmunk was photographed in the Columbia Valley of the East Kootenays. While this species is not currently not considered at risk, it is vulnerable to habitat loss due to logging activities. Many ecosystems within the Columbia Valley face development pressure, including pressure from logging operations. Wildsight is an effective conservation organization that protects biodiversity and promotes sustainable communities in Canada's Columbia and Rocky Mountains. Support for Wildsight, through donation or becoming a member, will help ensure that they remain effective in their efforts to conserve threatened or endangered species and ecosystems.

*as determined by COSEWIC: The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada