Raccoons

This little masked bandit stole a granola bar out of the open camera bag I left unattended on the ground about 10 feet from me. When I heard a crunching noise, I turned around to find him with his mouth filled with my granola bar. He quickly made his way up into a nearby tree to escape the hustle and bustle of the small campground in downtown Bear Lake, Michigan. As I switched lenses and got into position, the setting sun broke through the thick cloud layer and lit the thief's guilty face.

A raccoon fleeing from two very irate, very powerful mute swans happens upon a camera and photographer on an Island Trail boardwalk. The raccoon had intended to steal eggs from the swans' nest. The raccoon quickly learned an important lesson: getting food from campsites and dumpsters is usually safer than messing with swans.

After dinner the kids and I were in the backyard and we heard a strange noise coming from the woods behind the house. When I went to investigate, I found a family of baby raccoons walking across the ground. I ran to my truck and got my big lens. By the time I got back the babies had climbed part way up a very tall tree. This little guy was the only one in the sunlight.

After a fun Father’s Day celebration, I was riding in the truck with the kids and my dad up to the shop, when my nephew Abe got my attention. He had spotted a fawn in a nearby field. I hopped out of the truck and followed him. While we did get eyes on the fawn, it quickly hid from our view. We noticed a family of raccoons waddling into nearby trees. We followed them and I was able to photograph this little guy.

As I was opening the door to a Port-a-Jon in Cartier Park, I saw three baby raccoons near me. I decided I could hold it a while longer and ran back to my truck to get my biggest lens and tripod. I found the babies snuggled together on a tree branch, but my lens was so large, I could not fit all three raccoons in the frame, so I picked the cutest two. F4.0 at 1/80, ISO 1250, 600 mm lens at 600 mm