{"id":69826,"date":"2020-05-12T05:43:25","date_gmt":"2020-05-12T11:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=69826"},"modified":"2026-03-10T07:59:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:59:19","slug":"uinta-ground-squirrels-with-blue-green-and-gold-backgrounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/05\/12\/uinta-ground-squirrels-with-blue-green-and-gold-backgrounds\/","title":{"rendered":"Uinta Ground Squirrels With Blue, Green And Gold Backgrounds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"UintaUinta Ground Squirrel with a blue background – Nikkor D500, f6.3, 1\/2000, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

There are a few places in the Wasatch Mountains<\/span><\/a> where I know that if I drive on the far right side of the road, as close to the shoulder as I can, that I can obtain wonderful background colors behind Uinta Ground Squirrels. It isn’t just the colors that appeal to me, it is also how smooth and silky the backgrounds can be.<\/p>\n

On the left side of the road where I took these three images there is a very narrow, grassy shoulder and right next to that there is a steep drop off and below that in the distance are grassy patches, willows that line a stream bank and the other side of the canyon way off in the distance.<\/p>\n

When I took this Uinta Ground Squirrel photo with the blue background last year I was lined up so that there was a shaded part of the canyon off in the distance which is what created the blueish background.<\/p>\n

\"UintaUinta Ground Squirrel with a green background – Nikkor D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Also photographed last year was this Uinta Ground Squirrel image where I was lined up so a distant grassy area was behind and below the squirrel which is how I obtained the smooth green background in this photo.<\/p>\n

\"UintaUinta Ground Squirrel with a golden background – Nikkor D500, f9, 1\/640, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Early this month I was able to create this golden background by having leafless willows that line the creek below the road behind the Uinta Ground Squirrel when I photographed it. I think it also helped that it was still early in the morning and that the sunlight still had a touch of gold to it too. I love that “golden hour” light.<\/p>\n

Note: When I looked at this photo in a few different browsers it appears more of a burnished gold than true gold, but I still think of it as golden.<\/em><\/p>\n

If I were to go back to this area today I know that by now the willows will have leafed out and I might be able to obtain images of a ground squirrel with a lighter green background than the second image I shared above.<\/p>\n

When the Uinta Ground Squirrels are above ground during their active period of the year I always drive on the far right hand side of the road in a few areas because I know that if they are visible I can obtain images like these easily and I am always looking for new colors and hues behind the squirrels. Perhaps one day I’ll even be able to photograph a bird in one of these locations. Fingers crossed.<\/p>\n

By the way, part of the reason I have to be on the far right side of the road is so that I don’t scare the ground squirrels away and the other part is even on the far right side of the road with my 1.4x teleconverter on my 500mm lens I often have take close up photos and portraits of the ground squirrels because they are so close.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good. Stay safe.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Uinta Ground Squirrel photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Early this month I was able to create this golden background by having leafless willows that line the creek below the road behind the Uinta Ground Squirrel when I photographed it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":171671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1731,1630,26,773],"tags":[4004,211,6076,3940,8817,5058,3747,4109,5742,1631,5071,9891,4069,9892,3826,3827,2619,2620,902],"class_list":["post-69826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-summit-county-utah","category-uinta-ground-squirrel","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-adult","tag-background","tag-blue","tag-canyon","tag-color","tag-gold","tag-grass","tag-grasses","tag-green","tag-ground-squirrel","tag-ground-squirrels","tag-leafless","tag-mountains","tag-shaded","tag-squirrel","tag-squirrels","tag-uinta-ground-squirrel-2","tag-urocitellus-armatus","tag-willows"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/uinta-ground-squirrel-golden-background-mia-mcpherson-0047.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-iae","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":103822,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/07\/03\/adult-uinta-ground-squirrel-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":69826,"position":0},"title":"Adult Uinta Ground Squirrel Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I'm sharing some adult Uinta Ground Squirrel photos that were taken high in the Wasatch Mountains over the past month that I like a lot.","rel":"","context":"In "Summit County"","block_context":{"text":"Summit County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/summit-county-utah\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Uinta Ground Squirrel on an old sagebrush stump, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/uinta-ground-squirrel-adult-sagebrush-stump-mia-mcpherson-2147.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/uinta-ground-squirrel-adult-sagebrush-stump-mia-mcpherson-2147.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/uinta-ground-squirrel-july-mia-mcpherson-7193.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/uinta-ground-squirrel-july-mia-mcpherson-7193.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/uinta-ground-squirrel-july-mia-mcpherson-7193.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/uinta-ground-squirrel-july-mia-mcpherson-7193.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":102548,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/05\/21\/cute-baby-uinta-ground-squirrel-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":69826,"position":4},"title":"Cute Baby Uinta Ground Squirrel Images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 21, 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