So apparently I didn't finish my Yosemite photos yet, but since it is Halloween today, I thought I might celebrate by posting some photos related to the holiday! Here you are, Mr. Demon Squirrel! These photos were all taken on Arroyo Del Valle Trail in Pleasanton, CA. This is a walking trail behind my house that I usually exercise at.
Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. To see my best photos of Pleasanton in 2012, use this link. To see my best photos of squirrels from 2012, use this link. To see all of my photos from Pleasanton in 2012, use this link.
Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. To see my best photos of Pleasanton in 2012, use this link. To see my best photos of squirrels from 2012, use this link. To see all of my photos from Pleasanton in 2012, use this link.
How did I do this? Well, by accident! Can you believe it? It was fairly dark so I did 1 photo (the last one in this blog post) at a higher ISO then I put up my flash and decided to try to shoot it with the flash at ISO 100. It worked out with a twist. I gave the squirrel a red eye! Now you are probably wondering why the red eye is so intense here. I have a small biology lecture prepared for you!
In animal eyes, there is a highly reflective layer of tissue called the tapetum lucidum in the back of the eye. This is what you are seeing in this image. The tissue in the back of the squirrels eyes is reflecting back the light from the flash! The tapetum lucidum tissue is not present in human eyes however, but we do have a retina which is the skin in the back of the eyes and that is where most of the blood vessels in the eyes are. The retina does not have much of a reflective property, but a regular flash is strong enough to light up the blood flowing through your eyes in turn turning the eyes "red"! How interesting? :) So in other words, animals tend to have a more prominent red eye than humans. How red eye reduction works is that a pre-flash will go off, which will cause the pupils of the eye to contract (kind of like an aperture inside of a camera) and this will cause less of the retina to be exposed to the flash.
In animal eyes, there is a highly reflective layer of tissue called the tapetum lucidum in the back of the eye. This is what you are seeing in this image. The tissue in the back of the squirrels eyes is reflecting back the light from the flash! The tapetum lucidum tissue is not present in human eyes however, but we do have a retina which is the skin in the back of the eyes and that is where most of the blood vessels in the eyes are. The retina does not have much of a reflective property, but a regular flash is strong enough to light up the blood flowing through your eyes in turn turning the eyes "red"! How interesting? :) So in other words, animals tend to have a more prominent red eye than humans. How red eye reduction works is that a pre-flash will go off, which will cause the pupils of the eye to contract (kind of like an aperture inside of a camera) and this will cause less of the retina to be exposed to the flash.
Here is another shot of Mr. Demon Squirrel.
Here is a normal shot under regular day light with a higher ISO. No flash used.
Hope you have enjoyed these photos and the small trick I taught you for Halloween themed photos! Have a safe night, and remember not to eat your collection too quickly. :) Have all of you have a fun and safe Halloween. Please don't forget to share my blog posts with your friends! If you would like to get notifications next time I post, you can "Like" me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.
