Jacob Wat  

Summer Chipmunk by Jacob Wat

December 2025 - Summer Chipmunk

December 2025 - Jacob Wat

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About the Image(s)

For my submission this month I decided to work on a photo I took of a chipmunk. The image was taken using my canon EOS Rebel T7 with a 18-55 mm lens. The image was taken back in August and the day was really sunny. It was taken at the New York Botanical Garden in the rocks area. There was minimal tree cover and it was around noon so the lighting is not optimal making my subject very dark and the background very bright. To try and fix this I went for a very tight crop and then tried to selectively darken the foreground. I think the blurred nature of the foreground works a little in my favor here but there is a slight rainbow halo effect at the border where the foreground meets any other section that I personally find distracting. As a general question I was wondering what tools do you use to fix that or is it a non-issue? Beyond the cropping I also adjusted the color and vibrancy of the image going for minimal edits to only try and bring more focus on to the subject.

5 comments posted

Dean Ginther   Dean Ginther
Jacob,
That maybe what is called color fringing (there are probably other names too). I think that happens when there is strong light on an edge with high contrast. There are ways to try to edit and reduce it; try googling it. In general, I find the bright/shiny foreground a bit distracting from the subject.
You might open up (lighten) the shadows in the face and body produced by the strong backlighting.   Posted: 12/05/2025 17:54:56
Cindy Smith   Cindy Smith
This is a cutie. I would bring up the shadows and crop off a little of the left. I like the purple flowers and would definitely crop just to the left edge of the rear one and not crop it out. Not sure how to handle the foreground.   Posted: 12/05/2025 21:15:03
Diane Perry   Diane Perry
You seemed to be able to get quite close. Was there a way of moving that you could've done to place him in a better light? I don't know how chipmunks move but if he kept coming back to the same spot this may've been an option.
Sorry- I can't help you with the foreground   Posted: 12/07/2025 02:08:32
Mervyn Hurwitz   Mervyn Hurwitz
The chipmunk is lovely and I like the inclusion of the flower in the background. Once again the time of day has let you down. The foreground is very bright and this accentuates the fact that it is out of focus. You can correct this by cloning from the right side of the tree trunk or by painting with a light grey color.   Posted: 12/09/2025 15:26:19
Pierre Williot   Pierre Williot
Hi Jacob, Nice capture. I agree with the above comments. I agree that "eye" level is optimal, but, in this case the brilliant foreground from the rock is very distracting. A capture from a little bit higher would have solved this problem. I general, backlit images are difficult to work with. Much easier to work with a low side light or light behind the photographer.
I took the liberty of decreasing the exposure for the background and foreground, decreasing the "shadows" on the subject and adding a little vignette. Not perfect, but just to provide for discussion.   Posted: 12/10/2025 20:25:11
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